There can be no handball competitors on the 2022 National Games in Gujarat because the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has determined to “drop” the game from the schedule as a result of factional combating within the federation.
Both variations of the game – indoor and out of doors, to be held in Vadodara and Surat respectively – stand cancelled. The choice comes after rival factions claimed the suitable to ship groups – eight groups every of female and male gamers – for every of the 2 variations to be competed from September 29 to October 12.
It is learnt that the taekwondo competitors, initially on the National Games programme to be held in Surat, will even not be held now.
Vadodara metropolis was set to host the indoor handball match on the Sports Complex in Sama whereas Surat was to stage the out of doors model at Dumas seashore. According to officers of the Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG), the cancellation of each variations of the handball sport has come as a “disappointment” as a number of patrons have been wanting ahead to the game.
“It is extremely sad that the IOA has been unable to resolve the rivalry between (rival) federations, thus resulting in a loss not only for the patrons but also for the players of a total of 32 teams of handball that would have contested in Gujarat,” a high SAG official informed The Indian Express.
“All arrangements were in place in Vadodara for the indoor version and in Surat for the beach handball games. However, despite a court order that the old federation — Handball Federation of India (HFI) should be recognised as the official authorised body to select teams, the Handball Association of India (HAI) has been interfering in the matter.”
The high eight groups from the earlier version of the National Games have been alleged to take part within the males’s and girls’s classes in each indoor and out of doors occasions. While the indoor occasion has groups comprising 16 gamers every, the seashore occasion options groups of 10 gamers every. “The Senior Nationals for the men were held in Jaipur in March and the women’s nationals concluded in Hyderabad in April, from where the HFI had chosen eight top teams from each category,” the official stated.
A senior IOA official stated the choice to take handball off the programme was taken final week due to the factionalism throughout the Handball Federation of India. The official added that they obtained entries from two teams that claimed to be working the game within the nation. “So, around five or six days ago, we decided to drop handball from the National Games programme because of problems within the federation,” the official stated.
For the athletes, the choice is a bitter tablet to swallow. A nationwide participant from Gujarat stated, “This decision is extremely distressing and sets a bad precedent for sports. Almost all sports are plagued with issues of rival factions and politics… Will it then be that in years to come we will not have National Games at all? What is the fault of the players, who spend the best years of their lives trying to learn the sport and honing their talent? If the national body cannot resolve such issues even for the interest of the game, the government must step in or the courts must.”
The National Games are being held after a spot of seven years.
(With inputs from ENS New Delhi)