India puts time limit on sports chiefs 05/05/2010 |
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India’s long-serving Olympic chief Suresh Kalmadi has been given a government deadline to quit his post.
Just five months before the country hosts the Commonwealth Games, the sports ministry ruled that heads of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and national sports federations cannot remain in their positions for more than 12 years or beyond the age of 70.
Kalmadi, the chief organiser of October’s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, has served as the IOA president for 14 years and turned 66 last weekend.
But the ministry has allowed Kalmadi and other sports chiefs to complete their terms, ensuring there is no break in preparations for the Commonwealth Games.
Kalmadi, whose current tenure ends in 2012, declined to comment on the sports ministry’s ruling, but other officials slammed the move.
“It is a ridiculous decision,” said opposition lawmaker Vijay Kumar Malhotra, who has headed the country’s archery federation for 31 years.
“It makes no sense. People have served in parliament for 30 years, many of our ministers are above 70, so why this rule only for sports officials?”
However, sports minister MS Gill defended the decision.
“This order will serve the best interest of sportspersons of the country and it will give an impetus to transparent and professional management of Indian sports in the new century,” he said in a statement.
Former stars such as athlete Milkha Singh welcomed the regulations.
“It is a step in the right direction – it should have happened much earlier,” he added. “It will lead to better people joining the federations and that can only be good for sports.”
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