Paralympic Committee in Damage Control Mode

For the third time in four years, the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) has been derecognised by its world body, for exactly the same reason, infighting within the association. While Sports Ministers in the past, Ajay Maken and Jitendra Singh, have bailed the PCI, it's not the same this time around.

The PCI is yet to respond to the show-cause notice issued to them by the Sports Ministry for the shabby conduct of the National Paralympic Games in Ghaziabad less than a month ago. But in a break from previous years, this time the PCI is seeking the help of its athletes to clean up the mess. (International Paralympic Committee Suspends 'Chaotic' Indian Federation for Infighting)

"We will be meeting our athletes who are training in Delhi's Nehru Stadium, and ask them what should be our response to the Sports Ministry," Mr Satyanarayana, Executive Officer of the PCI told NDTV from Bengaluru. "The IPC has said there is infighting, but that is not true. 99.5% of the members are together. We are all concerned about the pride of our country and our athletes"

The PCI claims funding is not its problem, lack of management and a roadmap is. Which is perhaps why athletes are waiting for their share of government and federation money that they should've received long back, even today.

HN Girisha, who won India an athletics silver at the London Paralympic Games in 2012, had funded the national Paralympic Games in Bengaluru a couple of years back by himself, and is yet to get a reimbursement from the government. "I went to NGOs and other charity organisations to collect the money and organise everything, and I also used my own money for it. The

Karnataka state government owes me ~CHECK~2 lakh, but they have not reimbursed me," Girisha told NDTV from Bengaluru.

Similarly, Ram Karan Singh, who won silver at the Para Asian Games in Incheon last year, is waiting for the PCI to reimburse him the money that he had organised himself to fund a trip to Tunisia, for a qualifying event for the 2014 Asian Games.

The PCI owes the athlete ~CHECK~90,000. Singh has also been told his dues aren't being cleared because he submitted his bills late.

It is to address these issues that officials are directly meeting athletes in New Delhi over the next couple of days. "In between their own fights and bickering, we are the ones who suffer. Why don't they make an Athletes Commission and make some of us the part of it so that we can offer them some practical solutions?," Arjuna Awardee and 2014 Para Asian Games silver medallist Deepa Malik told NDTV.

India's athletes are likely to miss out on the World Blind Games that will be held in Korea next month. Hopefully the mess will be cleared before the World Championships in October.