Sports Ministry flouts own rule for archer Dola

Sabi Hussain

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 4

The Sports Ministry will find it hard to explain how Dola Banerjee, a senior archer, made it to the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards selection committee. Her presence in the committee is a clear violation of the Ministry's own rule that debars current players from being a part of the panel.

Interestingly, the Ministry had Banerjee on the panel as a former athlete. However, the officials, while calling her a former athlete, perhaps totally forgot about a press release issued a while back wherein Banerjee was mentioned as one of the beneficiaries of the TOPS funding and a bright medal prospect for the Rio Games. Also, the archer received a financial assistance from National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) for purchase of archery equipment worth Rs 2.25 lakh sometime back. 

“It is surprising that a current player who is attending national camps and getting TOPS funding was in the awards selection committee. This is a clear violation of government's own rules; it could lead to legal implications,” a senior Archery Association of India (AAI) official told The Tribune.

“Besides, her presence in the committee amounts to a conflict of interest as well. She could influence the committee's decision in favour of a particular player.” 

It has been learnt that her name was included in the committee at the behest of a very senior SAI official. The same official later ordered the AAI to include her name for the national camp as well, though she had performed poorly at the National Ranking Trials. The AAI official said that Banerjee was not even a part of the eight-name list which was sent to the SAI for the national camp as she finished 10th in the NRT. 

“To our surprise, the SAI had included her name in the list that was returned to us,” the official informed. The AAI has now written back to the SAI asking if Banerjee must be included, then why not call the top-12 finishers in the NRT for the camp. 

The Ministry's explanation for having the archer in the national camp is simple — if the government is spending so much of money on an athlete through TOPS, how could she not be a part of any preparatory camp for the Olympics? It's a different matter altogether that the AAI had not recommended Banerjee's name for the TOPS either!