The Indian Olympic Association is playing ducks and drakes with sport in the guise of preserving its autonomy in the face of alleged government interference. Its latest step, disbanding its ethics commission, is another indication of the lengths it can go to in order to keep its discredited president in his post. The IOA has for long been guilty of misusing its position as an International Olympic Committee affiliate. That its president Suresh Kalmadi is behind bars at New Delhi’s Tihar Jail along with CWG organising committee secretary-general Lalit Bhanot is clear enough indication of the rot that has set in.
The 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games exposed the IOA’s corrupt machinations and the disbanding of the commission, comprising eminent former judges, is another attempt to allow tainted officials to continue serving into an Olympic year, when the IOA will still be relevant. It might have made sense to ask those facing serious criminal charges to resign. But its AGM earlier this month chose to ignore the compulsions of having to deal with corrupt officials, thus betraying who still controls the IOA.
It is a reflection of the state of affairs in India’s sports sector that while key administrators are cooling their heels in jail, it is no different in the arena where star athletes have been caught using performance-enhancing drugs and are all but ruled out of next year’s Summer Olympics in London. It is evident to all that a huge effort will be needed to cleanse the Augean stables of Indian sport.