Indian Legislation Jeopardizes Olympic Participation

(ATR) India will move forward with age limits on its sporting leadership, a situation the IOC tells Around the Rings "may unfortunately impact the representation and participation of India" at future Olympic Games.

The Press Trust of India reported this week that newly appointed sports minister Ajay Maken plans to recycle past legislation into parliament this July that would force Indian Olympic Association and sport federation officials to retire upon their 70th birthdays. The bill also includes a maximum tenure of eight years in office.

Maken’s resumption of his call for age restrictions and terms limits follows a meeting last June between the IOC, IOA and government representatives that appeared to put to rest concerns over state involvement in the NOC’s affairs.

"It appears, however, that the government of India is still failing to respect the jurisdiction and autonomy of the NOC and the Olympic Movement in the country," an IOC spokesperson tells ATR.

Despite warnings a plenty, the PTI report suggests Maken remains undeterred.

"IOC has written a letter and we have taken account of the IOC's letter. IOA has also written a letter to us. We have taken note of them," he was quoted by the Indian news agency.

The IOA was one of several problem NOCs on which the IOC Executive Board received updates during its meeting earlier this month in London, the others being Ghana, Kuwait and Panama.

According to the IOC, "theEB clearly indicated that it would reserve its right to consider appropriate measures at its next meeting in early July 2011 in Durban. This may unfortunately impact the representation and participation of India on the international sports scene and at the Olympic Games, in particular, if the government of India does not observe its commitment to respect the jurisdiction and autonomy of the NOC and the Olympic Movement in the country."

Left unsaid is the potential impact this row couldhave upon an Olympic bid from India. The IOC refused to comment in that regard because the bidding process for 2020 is not yet officially underway.

Many predicted last year’s Commonwealth Games would be a stepping stone to 2020 until allegations of shoddy construction, graft and financial mismanagement largely overshadowed October’s competition.

IOC member and IOA secretary general Raja Randhir Singh told ATR on the sidelines of December’s 2nd Asian Beach Games in Oman that his NOC is still in discussions with the Indian government regarding a bid for 2020.

Efforts made since to reach the IOA by both phone and email for an update have been unsuccessful.

The Olympic Charter says all NOCs must be free from government interference, and athletes are occasionally forced to compete under the flag of the IOC due to such meddling.

In 110 years of Olympic participation, India has 20 total medals, 11 of them coming in field hockey, and last finished inside the top 20 of the medal tally at the 1932 Games.

Written by Matthew Grayson.