Last Word: Time to set up independent body across all sports to deal with complaints

We should care as much for the welfare of our sportswomen and men as we care about the medals they bring. A national body that handles safety and welfare is only a start.

Seeking justice: Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia during their protest against Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. | Photo Credit: MOORTHY RV

On August 18, 2016, the Prime Minister tweeted, “On this very auspicious day of Raksha Bandhan, Sakshi Malik, a daughter of India, wins a bronze and makes all of us very proud.” In another tweet, he said, “Sakshi Malik will inspire several sportspersons in the years to come.”

Does that mean Malik, who had just won an Olympic medal then, will inspire girls to take to wrestling? Or will girls be inspired to keep away from sport by the treatment meted out to her and other international medal winners protesting against sexual abuse at the hands of the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), who is a powerful member of the ruling party?

The WFI has no internal complaints committee, as mandated by law. Few sports bodies do.

If the Sports Ministry is serious about attracting women to sports, the time is overdue for setting up an independent body across all sports that will deal with complaints.

In recent years, there have been complaints by women cricketers, women at sports camps, cyclists, and athletes. A report published by students of the National Law University in Jodhpur in August 2021 indicated there could be 200 perpetrators and 10,000 victims across 53 sports in India.

The advantage of a national body charged with the specific task of handling complaints from sportswomen is that the sports bodies don’t have to get into areas where they lack the expertise or the finances to pursue the complaints. It would also rid the system of conflicts of interest where an individual known to be close to an official is named to the ad-hoc committees that are appointed with the chief aim of sweeping everything under the carpet.

A national body, along the lines of the anti-doping agency, will have a major role to play in ensuring the safety of our athletes from a very young age. Horror stories about coaches and officials circulate in the media for a while , and then everything is forgotten. The top wrestlers who decided that enough was enough and sat down in public protest in New Delhi have not managed to get enough support of even those from other sports.

This is not because other sportspeople don’t care; it is a matter of self-preservation for those who know that despite all the hard work and medals and runs and wickets, athletes are subservient to officials in our country, and a word from them can destroy careers. The power balance is skewed in favour of officialdom. The sport, as the cliche goes, is greater than the sportsperson, but the official is greater than the sport even.

We, as a nation, love it when our sports stars win laurels. Politicians bask in the reflected glory. Yet when the athletes need succour, the same politicians suddenly have other things to do. We should care as much for the welfare of our sportswomen and men as we care about the medals they bring. A national body that handles safety and welfare is only a start.