International Olympic Committee keeps versus Indian Olympic Association: Top-10 developments
Till the ban, which was imposed in December last year, is revoked, Indian athletes will not be able to compete under the tricolour in any Olympic-approved event.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: September 05, 2013 04:58 PM IST
In a big setback for Indian athletes, the International Olympic Committee or IOC has decided that India will remain suspended from the international Olympic movement. Till this ban, imposed in December last year, is revoked, Indian athletes will not be able to compete under the tricolour in any Olympic-approved event. And if they win gold, the national anthem will not be played.
1) The IOC is clear that it will only revoke the ban when the India Olympic Association ensures that it has no office-bearer who faces charges in a criminal or corruption case and amends its constitution to ensure such people cannot contest its elections. (Related read: "Will request IOC for an alternative solution," sports minister Jitendra Singh tells NDTV)
2) The India's national Olympic commiittee has so far refused to oblige. Its secretary-general Lalit Bhanot faces corruption charges in a 2010 Commonwealth Games-related case. India was banned in December 2012 after Mr Bhanot was elected. (Watch: Law of the land will prevail over IOC's diktat, says IOA president Abhey Singh Chautala)
3) At the Youth Asian Games in China last month, the Indian contingent marched under the Olympic Council of Asia flag at the opening ceremony. They were introduced as independent Olympic athletes.
4) The Indians won 14 medals - three gold, four silver and seven bronze. As each of the young Indian gold medalists took the podium, the Olympic hymn played, not the national anthem.
5) At a meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina yesterday, the IOC, while reiterating the suspension, said it has been trying to help the IOA to "improve good governance" and has provided it with a roadmap.
6) It noted that it had sent observers to the IOA's general assembly on August 25, where most of the changes it had requested in the IOA's constitution were accepted. But the clause that deals specifically with the eligibility of members was not, it said in a statement, adding that this clause "needs to be fully accepted before the suspended IOA can proceed with the elections."
7) The Indian body's best compromise offer so far is that it will debar people who are convicted and sentenced to a jail term of more than two years from contesting election. Lalit Bhanot is out on bail after spending almost a year in jail.
8) Indian sports officials argue that this conforms with Indian law, which allows those who face criminal charges to contest parliamentary elections, since they are innocent until proven guilty.
9) Indian sportspersons, who are the worst hit, have said the ban is a shame. Olympian Abhinav Bindra had said last year, " It just re-iterates the fact that the athlete is the last person on the agenda in India." The sports minister Jitendra Singh said: "We have to request the IOC for an alternative solution so that our athletes don't suffer," the minister said.
10) The Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in February next year is the next tournament where Indian athletes will have to participate as independent sportspersons. In September 2014 the Asiam Games will be held in Incheon, South Korea. The next Summer Olympics are due in Rio de Janiero in 2016.