Taekwondo in India, a sport or a business?

Taekwondo in India seems to have become increasingly commercialized, with the sport shifting from a genuine pathway for athletes to represent the country in prestigious events like Olympics and Asian Games to a business venture.

- Sharad Deep

LUCKNOW:

Multiple federations, including the Taekwondo Federation of India (TFI) with branches in Lucknow (TFI-L), Ranchi (TFI-R), and Bangalore (TFI-B), as well as Taekwondo India (IT) in Mumbai, have introduced confusion and exploitation for athletes.

Each federation allegedly operates with its own set of rules, fees and events, complicating an athlete's journey to national and international competition. And this all happening even when the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has clearly barred them from using its logo as none of them are affiliated to the games' supreme body in India.

"Presently, the Taekwondo Federation of India is not an affiliated member of the IOA, and no federation for the sport of taekwondo is affiliated to the IOA," stated IOA's public information officer George Mathew only last December while replying to an RTI query of one Parsuram Bhanja of Puri district in Odisha. A copy of the reply is in the possession of HT.