IOA to blame for India's suspension by IOC: Sports Minister Jitendra Singh

NEW DELHI: Sports Minister Jitendra Singh today blamed the Indian Olympic Association for India's suspension by the International Olympic Committee, a development which puts a bar on the country's Olympic participation.

"The Indian Olympic Association is to blame for the current crisis. We told the IOA many times to amend its constitution and be compliant with the international rules," he said.

Jitendra said that there was no conflict between the government's Sports Code and the Olympic Charter and the "unfortunate" incident could have been avoided had the IOA amended its Constitution.

"The decision to suspend India was an unfortunate one. But it could have been avoided had the IOA amended its constitution. It is absolutely false to say that Sports Code was the reason behind India's suspension. There is no conflict between the Sports Code and Olympic Charter," he told NDTV.

"If the IOA had amended its constitution, this situation would not have arisen," he added.

He said it was "unfortunate how politicians at the helm of the IOA have handled the affairs of the body".

"Government has very little to do with either the IOA or the IOC. But we will write to IOC and try and get the suspension reversed," said Jitendra.