Selection, bad timing, NADA presence behind mess

KIUG supposed to be for last academic session students; athletics, wrestling & weightlifting most affected because of doping history; other sports also affected

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IKE one national sports federation official puts it quite succinctly: It was like there were 20 officials for one competitor.

The Khelo India University Games in Rajasthan is turning out to be an embarrassment for all stakeholders. As reported by this newspaper on Tuesday there were at least two athletics, one each in weightlifting and wrestling events where there was only one competitor. The KIUG, held under the aegis of the Sports Authority of India, isa flagship programme of the sports ministry. This time it is being held in Jaipur in collaboration with state sports council. The National Sports Federations provide technical support. Even on Wednesday, there were events in athletics where two or three athletes competed. This trend is not restricted to just athletics, wrestling and weightlifting. In fact other sports like swimming, kayaking and canoeing faced the same problem.

Each of the events had its own issues. The selection of athletes is done by the Association of India Universities (AIU) and its sports board. The NSFs provide officials for technical conduct of the Khelo India University Games. What makes it even more intriguing is that most of the NSFs where there have been low turnouts don’t even recognize AIU sports. In inter-varsity events, technical conduct is not done by most NSFs either: Take for example, Athletics Federation of India, swimming federation, wrestling federation do not send their technical officials to conduct the inter-university competitions.