National Sports Day special: 5 things to hope for in Indian sports

3. A cleaner administration

No more of the same, please!

While the International Olympic Committee’s decision to ban India came across as one that could potentially hurt the country’s chances at future international events, it brought with it a hope that a thorough cleansing of the Indian sports administration is in the offing.

Despite the farcical handling of funds for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, chargesheeted officials like Lalit Bhanot and VK Verma have for long insisted on being eligible to contest elections for sports federations and associations. Given their clout in the upper echelons of Indian sports administration, power has been taken out of the hands of the deserving and into those of the corrupt.

With the IOC’s tough stance on this issue, and major events like the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games on the horizon, India is facing a race against time to come clean, failing which the country’s athletes will not be allowed to participate under the national flag.

And while such a stance is only detrimental to the country’s progress, there is a hope that India will eventually give in and fall into line with the world’s apex Olympics body, thus exiling men like Bhanot, who have been plaguing Indian sports for far too long.

Power, instead, should be put in the hands of those who have played the sport before and understand it. It is a hope for a future where sports administration in the country will become transparent.