VACANCIES ACROSS MOST LEVELS AT SAI WORRYING

Ahead of important Olympic, CWG bid, deptt lacking manpower

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INDIA is going gung-ho over bidding for the 2036 01ympics and its eventual hosting. Ahmedabad is getting ready to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games that not too many cities and/or countries are willing to host. India has already shown keen interests in bidding and hosting world-class events leading up to the Commonwealth and the 2036 Games, irrespective of whether they get to host it.

However, taking a closer look at India's flagship department under the sports ministry to promote sports excellence in the country Sports Authority of India - seems to tell a different story. It's short staffed. Besides helping with National Sports Federations' (NSFS) annual planning and budget, the SAI is instrumental in training young talent through its various programmes aimed at the grassroots level including the Khelo India schemes. The SAI has been opening National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs) across the country but going by the numbers revealed during Rajya Sabha question hour on Thursday, there are a number of vacancies yet, to be filled for coaches, sports science experts, high performance directors and others.