With the qualification spots for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics up for grabs at the Archery World Championships in June, the latest developments can hardly be termed ideal for Indian prospects. (Image for representational purpose)Archery Association of India (AAI) president BVP Rao was quick to put in his papers after the Supreme Court set aside the constitution according to which its election were held last December.
While the former bureaucrat played the aggrieved party alleging that “the Indian sports system does not allow competent people to come in. If such people come in, it (sports system) hinders in the way of functioning”, he probably saw the writing on the wall. The voting rights to individual archers and institutional boards, who played a key role in Rao’s success in the December 22, 2018 polls, have been rescinded. The Indian Olympic Association and the sports ministry were unhappy with the constitution drafted by former chief election commissioner SY Quraishi as it didn’t fully conform with the National Sports Development Code of India (NSDCI), 2011. The main bone of contention was Quraishi handing voting rights to individual members, not representing state bodies.
“The new voting list will make a difference as big as night and day when the election is held after the Supreme Court verdict,” a source within the archery body told The Indian Express. “Straightaway, the number of eligible voters would come down by almost a third. Those cut out mostly voted for Rao last time.”
The December election brought to an end the era of Vijay Kumar Malhotra, who dominated the Indian archery scene for close to four decades till the national body was de-recognised in 2012 by the government for not adhering to the sports code. Not surprisingly, those part of the previous regime are delighted with Wednesday’s ruling.
A former AAI office-bearer told The Indian Express: “You can’t keep violating court guidelines and strictures of the government on whose finances you function. The previous voters list was manipulated to ensure that Rao won. Voting rights were given to 23 archers, but all but one of them belonged to the recurve category despite compound archers bringing more laurels to the country. It is clear that Rao’s favourites were included.”
According to the court verdict, delivered by Justices AM Khanwilkar and Ajay Rastogi, fresh elections are to be held within four weeks. “The whole electoral process will have to be conducted from scratch. A fresh voters list has to be drafted and a new returning officer has to be appointed. The court order clearly says that Mr Quraishi has been relieved of his duties,” the source said. “It says the present dispensation can stay till the election, but Rao probably realised there was no point. He has the option of contesting again, but it will be a tall order for him.”
According to the insider, the AAI constitution prescribes a 30-day notice period for an election, while the court mandates the polls to be held within four weeks, but the erstwhile office-bearer is not too perturbed. “There is no problem if the election takes a few days more as long as the right thing is done in the end.”
With the qualification spots for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics up for grabs at the Archery World Championships in June, the latest developments can hardly be termed ideal for Indian prospects. But buoyed by the Wednesday’s verdict, the former office-bearer assured that “archers will not suffer.”
