Athletics Federation of India charts new path to curb age-fudging

Vinayak Padmadeo

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Ahmedabad, February 16

Countless national sports federations (NSFs) have tried to stop or contain age frauds in the championships that they conduct. The general rule that most NSFs follow is to bar any athlete or serve them with considerable suspension.

However, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is trying to chart its own path to curb this menace.

AFI had decided not to bar any athlete who has come to take part in the ongoing National Inter Districts Junior Athletics Meet (NIDJAM) here.

Over 5,500 athletes from over 600 districts have come to the capital of Gujarat. Of them, over 400 have been referred to undergo medical tests.

Since a final list of offenders will only be compiled by the end of this week, AFI has allowed them to take part in the competitions. They will also be awarded medals at this meet, subject to medical clearance.

However, if found guilty, the next best finisher will get the placement and the barcoded certificate.

AFI’s treasurer, Madhu Kant Pathak, told the Tribune that this humane touch was needed to safeguard sports. “Our planning committee chairman told us that barring athletes would be right as overage athletes are stopped but at the same we would see a drop in participation. So, we agreed and allowed them to participate subject to medical tests,” Pathak said.

“Sometimes they have the right documents but may appear overage, they are then referred to a panel of doctors. We do not want to lose athletes and as a rule, if someone is caught in an overage case then he or she is asked to participate in their age groups. We are giving the medals as of now but not the certificates. That will only be awarded if the athlete in question is cleared through tests,” he added.

4,000 new registrations

In Ahmedabad alone, it is estimated that AFI has registered close to 4,000 fresh athletes. They first have to register with the AFI through a series of checks.

First is submission of documents that show residency and age proofs. If someone is suspected of being overage, or the documents show discrepancies, the suspected athlete is sent to a panel of doctors for further assessments. It is a two-step process, where first the molars are assessed.

Third molar eruptions by studies mean that the boy or a girl is over the limit of 16 years. For the under-14 category, the doctors see whether the second molar eruption has taken place. If there are traces of eruption then the athlete is thought to be between the age of 12 and 14 and is cleared.

If the molars do not give them away, then the doctors refer them to radiological tests involving X-rays of the wrist, elbow and even the pelvic region.

If wrists or pelvic are found to be fused, it is estimated that the boy is between 20-21 years of age and 18-19 among girls. The doctors though refer everyone to undergo radiological tests.

Once the process is completed, the athletes have to provide fingerprint mapping, retina scans to the federation that is collected in a database for eternity. Once entered, they will be flagged if the same athlete tries to change name or identity. “If they are in the database, they cannot cheat again,” Pathak said.