India to be back in Olympic fold soon: sports minister Jitendra Singh

NEW DELHI: Sports minister Jitendra Singh said in a press conference on Thursday that the Indian government has no intensions to interfere with the Indian Olympic Association ( IOA) proceedings.

India has prised open the door that will allow it to re-enter the Olympic movement from which it was banished last December. This follows an undertaking given by the Indian Olympic Association to the International Olympic Committee ( IOC) to carry out what may be called the most radical reforms in Indian sports administration.

The sports minister also said that an IOC observer will be present during the IOA elections and that the IOA was in consultations with IOC at various levels.

The radical reforms that would be undertaken include rewriting the constitution of the Indian Olympic Association to ensure that none of the office bearers of national sports federations (NSF) are above the age of 70 years.

It will also have to guarantee that no office bearer gets more than three terms. If these changes meet the IOC's approval, India will get back to the Olympic fold. IOA feels the reforms would take 75 days or less.

Jitendra Singh further added, "IOC has decided to pave the way to lift ban on IOA. Indian athletes will join Olympic movement soon. It is not my victory but a win for the country, sportspersons and all of us."

"We told IOC that we do not want to interfere in the matters of NSFs. We respect their freedom. But since tax payers money is involved, we would like them to be more transparent."

What this means that NSFs can no longer be the fiefdom of influential politicians and bureaucrats. It will also mean that veterans like VK Malhotra (archery) and Jagdish Tytler (judo) will not have a say in the running of sports in the country, something they have had for decades.

IOA agreed to amend its constitution to incorporate age and tenure clauses stipulated by the sports ministry as well as IOC's code of ethics.