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New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
IOA heading for truce? EC to discuss ‘Vision 2036'
CHENNAI: For the first time in over 18 months, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is organizing a press conference on Thursday. The meet is titled as Powering India's Sporting Aspirations: IOA's Vision 2036. What seems to be the most interesting part is that it is not called by the IOA president or the warring unit of the Executive Committee. It is called by the Executive Council of the IOA. There have been indication over the last couple of months that the IOA is on its mending part. The majority of the Executive Committee members had revolted against IOA president PT Usha when Chief Executive Officer Raghuram Iyer was appointed last year in January.
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Business Standard
6 days ago
- Sport
- Business Standard
Have 2026 Asiad Selection Plan Ready by Aug 29: Sports Secy to NSFs
Sports secretary Hari Ranjan Rao on Thursday urged National Sports Federations (NSFs) to finalise their selection mechanism for next year's Asian Games by August 29 to ensure a greater focus on preparations for the showpiece in Japan. Rao was addressing NSFs in the one-day 'Khelo Bharat Conclave' in the national capital where an action plan to take Indian sports forward is being discussed by various stakeholders, including sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya, representatives of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and corporate houses, and prominent former athletes. "Let's have a selection plan for the Asian Games by August 29, which is also the National Sports Day (and the birth anniversary of hockey icon Dhyan Chand). If we do that, we will have one entire year to prepare ourselves," Rao, who is also the Director General of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), told the gathering. The Asian Games is scheduled to be held from September 19 to October 4 next year in Aichi-Nagoya. India would be aiming to better their best performance of 106 medals, including 28 gold, that was achieved in the previous edition in Hangzhou, China. Rao's suggestion to the NSFs comes months after the Sports Ministry laid down strict guidelines on selection processes for quadrennial showpieces and the world and continental championships. The ministry has asked NSFs to publicise the selection criteria for showpieces such as the Olympics, Paralympics, Asian Games, Para Asian Games and Commonwealth Games at least two years in advance. However, as is clear from Rao's statement, the plan is still a work in progress for next year's showpiece. The directives also make it mandatory for NSFs to upload selection policies on their respective websites and amend them only if there is a three-month window before a competition. It has also been made compulsory to videograph selection trials. Standardisation of the selection criteria has been a long-standing demand in sports like shooting where renowned pistol coach Jaspal Rana has stated that policies which are not codified in advance negatively impact athletes. Get Online Rao, who was formerly an additional secretary to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), also called on the NSFs to digitise their Annual Calendar of Training and Competition (ACTC) and upload them on the National Sports Repository System in the next couple of months. "I request cooperation from everyone, let's go online by October 1. Let's get rid of this offline ACTC documentation," he said. Rao also revealed that three task forces, as mandated by the recently-released Khelo Bharat Niti, are in the works. "The three task forces would be entrusted with the responsibility of improving the quality of coaches, create a good pool of administrators and make India a sports manufacturing hub. These task forces would be constituted soon," he said. Also, the two labs for at the National Forensic Sciences University in Ahmedabad are now operational and testing supplements for possible presence of banned substances to ensure that athletes are saved from ingesting anything that is prohibited. "Our athletes, a lot of times, take supplements which are contaminated. They are not aware, and these labs will go a long way in saving them," Rao said. Good Governance With the National Sports Governance Bill, which emphasises on accountability of administrators set to be introduced in the Parliament next week, Rao said it is the right time for the NSFs to act. "I say on the upcoming National Sports Day, take a vow to announce three good governance measures in your NSF. It will reflect a commitment," he said.
Hans India
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
National Sports Governance Bill to be tabled in Parliament
New Delhi: Thelong-delayed National Sports Governance Bill will be tabled in the Parliament in this upcoming Monsoon Session, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, announced here on Monday. The bill, which has been in the process since October 2024, aims to ensure transparency, fairness and good governance in the country's sports ecosystem. 'The bill will be tabled in the Parliament during the upcoming session. I will give more details in a couple of days,' Dr Mandaviya told the media at an event launching the Department of Youth Affairs' initiatives against drug addiction. The bill aims to establish a regulatory board, called the Sports Regulatory Board of India, with the authority to grant recognition and allocate funding to National Sports Federations (NSFs) based on their adherence to provisions related to good governance. It has been debated for a long and kept pending because of opposition by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which has termed its provisions as interference by the government in the functioning of the NSFs, which contravenes provisions of the Olympic Charter. The draft National Sports Governance Bill 2024 proposes the setting up of Ethics Commissions and Dispute Resolution Commissions to ensure transparency in governance. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports had started the consultation process on the National Sports Governance Bill, 2024 by putting it in the public domain in October 2024, seeking suggestions/comments on its provisions. The bill also proposes setting up some regulations for the National Olympic Committee, which is the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). It says that the NOC shall comply with all requirements applicable to it under this Bill and such additional eligibility criteria for recognition as may be prescribed by the Central Government under this Bill shall ensure that its constitution incorporates and complies with all the requirements specified in this Bill as applicable to it and any rules prescribed by the Central Government in relation thereto from time to time. The IOA has objected to such provisions, claiming that its constitution will only adhere to provisions of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Charter. Many NSFs, too, have opposed some provisions of this bill as they go against the regulations of the International Sports Federations (IFs).
Indian Express
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Explained: Why India will host Pakistani athletes despite visa ban
When the government decided to suspend visa services to Pakistani nationals with immediate effect on April 24, 2025, in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attacks, it cast a shadow on the participation of the athletes from across the border in the tournaments to be hosted in India. Those concerns were allayed after a sports ministry official said on Thursday that Pakistani sportspersons will not be stopped from travelling to India to participate in multi-nation tournaments. 'While India won't be involved in the bilateral engagement with Pakistan, we won't be stopping them from participating in the multi-national tournaments India is hosting,' the official said. In 2025 alone, India is scheduled to host at least a dozen international tournaments, both senior and junior, in nearly 10 sports excluding cricket. These include World Cups, Asian Championships, Commonwealth Championships and other tour events in sports like hockey, weightlifting, swimming, badminton, squash and athletics. So, even as the borders and airspace remain closed, and the trade and diplomatic relations remain suspended, athletes from Pakistan will be allowed into the country. This may not necessarily mean that Pakistan's cricketers will travel to India, as the two countries have mutually decided to play at neutral venues until 2027. Arshad Nadeem, the Olympic champion javelin thrower from Pakistan, won't compete in Saturday's Neeraj Chopra Classic because it was an invitational event. The reason to allow Pakistani athletes to take part in tournaments being held in India can be traced to a series of events that took place six years ago. In June 2019, the sports ministry had given in writing to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) that the government would 'permit all qualified athletes belonging to any National Olympic Committee…' to take part in events that are held in India. 'Such participation of athletes shall be without prejudice to our principled positions and policies on other political matters including issues such as international recognition or otherwise of the country of origin of the athletes,' the ministry letter added. The written assurance came on the insistence of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which had cracked the whip after India did not grant visas to Pakistani athletes. In February 2019, days after the Pulwama terror attacks, a three-member Pakistani team comprising two pistol shooters and a manager was scheduled to arrive in Delhi for the shooting World Cup. However, the Pakistani team withdrew after they did not get visas. There was no official statement from the Indian government but the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) and the National Rifle Association of Pakistan claimed the visas were not granted because of the terror strikes in Pulwama. The decision resulted in India staring at international isolation. Days later, the IOC accused India of violating the Olympic Charter; specifically the principles of 'non-discrimination.' The world body announced that it had suspended talks with the IOA and the government for hosting sports events in the future. It didn't stop there. The IOC went on to 'recommend' all international federations that they 'neither award nor hold' sports events in India until they receive written assurances from the Indian government that participants from all nations will be guaranteed entry. On Thursday, while saying that Pakistani athletes will be given visas, the sports ministry official pointed to the fact that India could once again be found guilty of violating the Olympic Charter, which would in turn jeopardise the country's bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and 2036 Olympics, among many other events. 'Stopping any nation from participating in international tournaments due to border conflicts violates the Olympic charter, and it is not a good representation of India,' the official said. 'For instance, Russia and Ukraine are at war, but they show up at multi-nation events and compete as well. We are just following the standard norm.' International sport — the Olympic disciplines — is guided by the Olympic Charter and its Rule 44 states that the National Olympic Committees (in this case, the IOA) must 'ensure that no one has been excluded for racial, religious or political reasons or by reason of other forms of discrimination.' The IOC has been strict in implementing this rule. It has, in the past, acted against Kuwait, after the country refused to grant a visa to an Israeli delegate for the Asian Shooting Championship in 2015. A few years later, Malaysia, too, was stripped of the hosting rights for the World Para Swimming Championship after denying a visa to Israelis. More recently, FIFA — which also adheres to the Olympic Charter — took away the hosting rights of the Under-20 World Cup from Indonesia because they did not want to stage games involving Israel. Even the USA, which has imposed a complete travel ban on a dozen countries, has made an exemption for athletes who will participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, among other events. During the IOC Session in Mumbai in October 2023, the IOC had said that countries that exclude athletes from competing for political reasons risk harming their plans to host the Olympics. IOC member Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, the former president of Croatia, flagged the 'growing politicisation of sport' as a problem during that meeting, according to the Associated Press. 'We have witnessed more and more government restrictions being placed on athletes' access to international sporting competitions,' Grabar-Kitarovic said. She added that the IOC panel that holds talks with future Olympic hosts 'must take any infringement of the Olympic Charter into consideration at all stages of the dialogue,' according to AP. 'It is important that all interested parties and preferred hosts commit to abide by the IOC's code of ethics and rules of conduct,' Grabar-Kitarovic said. This message was not lost on India, which on Tuesday sent a high-level delegation to Lausanne for a meeting with the IOC where they pitched for the 2036 Olympics.
India Today
03-07-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Ahmedabad Olympics bid: How city can walk the talk with International Olympic Committee
Setting all speculation to rest about which Indian city is pitching to host the Summer Olympics, a delegation, represented by Gujarat sports minister Harsh Sanghavi and Indian Olympic Association president P.T. Usha, met Kirsty Coventry, the new president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and her team in Lausanne, Switzerland, on July had reached out to the IOC last October, formally conveying its bid to host one of the future editions of the Summer Olympics and Paralympics, ideally the 2036 edition, but had not specified which city would host it. In the meantime, several Union ministers, including home minister Amit Shah, had mentioned Gujarat would be hosting the officers from Gujarat's ministry of youth affairs and sports accompanying Sanghavi for the first formal meeting with the new IOC team, Ahmedabad has now formally entered the 'continuous dialogue' process for the bidding.'The interaction was to familiarise us with the new team at IOC and for the Future Host Committee at IOC to get to know us,' an official familiar with the meeting told INDIA TODAY. The Gujarat government, in a statement, said: 'The discussions provided a platform for the Indian delegation to articulate their vision for hosting a future edition of the Olympic Games in Ahmedabad. They gained invaluable insights from the IOC regarding the requirements for the Olympic Games and its ambitions for the future of the Olympic movement.''The IOC has very well laid out procedures and the new team wants to make the future host selection process more transparent and participative,' the official said. 'We are in the process of understanding the nuances of their requirements so that our pitch addresses their concerns effectively. The IOC's future host commission is also helping us navigate this process.'advertisementQatar, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and South Africa are considered the closest competitors to India's bid, given the readiness of their sports infrastructure and economic stability. Gujarat will now start reaching out to other countries who are not bidding to host the future editions but have a say in the selection process.'India's engagement with the Olympic movement is at a transformative moment, one that goes beyond competitive sports to embrace the true spirit of Olympics, which is promoting peace, education and cultural exchange through sports. The Olympic Games in India would not just be a spectacular event but one of generational impact for all Indians,' said intends to host most of the sports at the Sardar Patel Sports Enclave, which houses the country's largest Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Motera on the banks of Sabarmati river. Officials confide that discussions are underway to host events such as mountain biking in Uttarakhand, canoeing slalom in Bhopal and surfing and sailing in Goa. 'We are still putting together a plan that is practical and economically sustainable, not only for the Olympics but for the youth of the country to utilise before and after the games,' said an official, requesting next meeting with IOC, possibly with a more detailed plan, is expected in local support for the games is one of the key requirements, and to this end, the Gujarat government is investing heavily on creating sports infrastructure to foster a sports fervour in the state. To make the most of the additional infrastructure, the city will be hosting multiple international games. A week ago, the hosting rights of the 2029 World Police and Fire Games was awarded to Ahmedabad. This event will host over 10,000 athletes from more than 70 countries, representing police, fire, customs and correctional services. State officials have expressed confidence that the hosting rights for the 2030 Commonwealth Games will also likely land a massive boost for sports infrastructure and air and land connectivity, along with an overall upscaling of the state's economy, Gujarat is aiming to emerge as a 'global sports superpower' in the foreseeable future. The Summer Olympics, if it comes Ahmedabad's way, will be a shining symbol of to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch
