City’s roller skating association infighting leaves players in lurch

After hosting two parallel felicitation events for local skaters in August, the two factions of the Chandigarh Roller Skating Association (CRSA) are now at loggerheads over the conduct of the State Roller Hockey Championships. While the CRSA led by president Maninderjit Singh Sidhu has announced the meet from October 9, the faction under Harpreet Singh has fixed October 25 for their event.

The split reflects the ongoing division within the national federation as well, with each side claiming legitimacy. The row has put local skaters in a fix. The UT Sports Department has made it clear it will not entertain ‘invalid’ certificates for the purposes of gradation or cash awards, which have recently been increased. Applications for awards and gradation are verified by officials, who can accept or reject them on grounds of authenticity.

“If two state meets in the same session are organised, the certificates submitted by players for gradation or scholarships will surely be put under strict scrutiny,” said a senior skater, requesting anonymity.

Harpreet Singh insisted his group had the mandate. “We have received the letter from the national body for conducting the state meet on October 25 and we have notified accordingly,” he said.

Sidhu, however, maintained his faction was the rightful body. “The CRSA association is a registered society under the Registrar of Societies Act, and we have been recognised as the newly elected body. The bank account, operated since 1978, is now with our body. We have taken the matter to the High Court to stop the functioning of the fake association. We have received 575 entries despite one RSFI faction sending letters advising against participation,” he claimed.

The infighting became public in August, when one faction held elections overseen by observers from the Roller Skating Federation of India (RSFI) and the UT Sports Department. Sidhu was declared president, with Sarabjit Singh Mangat as general secretary and Reetika Sharma as treasurer. The other faction refused to accept the process, and on the same day held a separate felicitation ceremony for skaters who competed in the Asian Roller Skating Championship in South Korea.