NEW DELHI : The year 2015 was a mixed bag for Indian sports. The nation erupted in joy with Sania Mirza’s three Grand Slams to Saina Nehwal’s heroics at the All England Championships to the national hockey teams qualifying for Rio 2016 Olympics to the Indian Test team registering back-to-back wins against number one test side, South Africa.
But the year also witnessed incidents that diverted attention from the hard-earned on-field success of the players. From the ban on two Indian Premier League teams to the suspension of an infighting Boxing India to the unceremonious exit of Indian hockey coach Paul van Ass to Indian football plunging to a new low to the doping menace that haunted weightlifting, the year endured many avoidable unfortunate incidents.
IPL franchises Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals suspended: Considered controversy’s favourite child, the lucrative IPL once again hogged the limelight for all the wrong reasons as the Supreme Court-appointed Justice RM Lodha committee banned both CSK and RR, on charges of the spot fixing and betting in the 2013 edition of the league.
Officials from both the franchises, former CSK Team Prinicipal Gurunath Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals’ co-owner Raj Kundra, were earlier found guilty of betting and banned for life from any cricket activity undertaken by the BCCI. Following the suspension, the game’s governing body in the country had to bring in two new teams (Pune and Rajkot) for the tournament to continue with an eight-team event.
Boxing India Suspended: While Beijing Olympics bronze medalist Vijender Singh’s successful plunge to the professional level and Shiva Thapa’s World Championships medal were the highlights of the year, 2015 also witnessed Indian boxing administration hitting a new low.
The infighting among officials led to the country’s boxing association’s (Boxing India) suspension by the International Boxing Association (AIBA). Barely a year after the new federation took charge in the form of Boxing India, a revolt from state units forced the ouster of its President Sandeep Jajodia and Secretary Jay Kowli in May.
Another India hockey coach leaves unceremoniously: While both the men and women’s teams qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympics, the drama cornered around the unceremonious sacking of four coaches within a span of six months despite some outstanding performances from the team under those coaches. A major controversy broke out between Hockey India president Narinder Batra and former coach Paul van Ass after India returned from the Hockey World League (HWL) Semi-final in Antwerp.
After days of mud-slinging Dutchman Van Ass was sacked unceremoniously just six months into his job. Van Ass later told the media from Netherlands that he had been fired following his alleged spat with Batra after the quarterfinal match against Malaysia at HWL semi-final. High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans was then handed over charge of the men’s team until Rio.
Hockey winger Gurbaj Singh Suspended: Indian hockey was hit by another off-field drama when seasoned midfielder Gurbaj Singh was suspended by Hockey India on charges of misbehaviour and creating disharmony. He was then handed a nine-month suspension. And when the player’s appeal against the ban was dismissed, he decided to drag HI to court, where law took its own course and at the end of a legal battle, the ban was quashed. However, by then, damage had been done to Gurbaj because he not only missed the HIL auctions but was also kept out of the list of reserved players for HIL besides being ignored for the national team.
Indian football continues to suffer: The national team plummeted to a new low unseen in years but the mediocrity got lost in the showbiz of the spectacle called Indian Super League. The national team continued with their flop show as Stephen Constantine’s wards lost five matches, including one to tiny pacific island Guam.
The second edition of the lucrative ISL was a success and champions Chennaiyin FC’s remarkable turnaround was easily the story of the tournament. However, the off-field fracas surrounding the FC Goa management and Chennaiyin’s star player Elano Blumer following the summit showdown could have been avoided. Police arrested Brazilian midfielder Elano for allegedly assaulting the co-owner of rival FC Goa after his side dramatic win in the ISL final.
The former Manchester City and Galatasary star, who captains Chennaiyin in the ISL, was later released on bail. Salgaocar, the co-owner of FC Goa, claimed that Elano physically attacked him in an altercation that occurred at the home team’s dugout after the final whistle. Doping menace haunts weightlifting, boxing: Results in the sporting arena took a backseat as the highest number of weightlifters returned positive for performance-enhancing drugs this year, threatening India’s participation in next year’s Olympic Games with the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) staring at a suspension.
After a dope-free 2014, it seemed that Indian lifters had successfully managed to bury the ghosts of drug menace but it came back to haunt the country this year with highest number of offenders ever to be registered.
If the early part of the year was marred by one of the biggest doping scandals in recent times with as many as 26 lifters provisionally suspended by the IWF after testing positive for banned substances at various domestic meets, the end of 2015 saw two women athletes failing dope tests at an international event.
The doping scandal hit boxing too. Former Asian Games silver medallist Manpreet Singh pulled out of the Military World Games after failing a NADA dope test. Manpreet, who is part of the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), had travelled with the team to compete at the Military World Games in Myungyeong, South Korea, but pulled out of the event after failing in the test. Suicide attempts at Sports Authority of India centre: In a horrific incident that shook the nation, four young female athletes attempted suicide at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Kerala earlier this year alleging harassment.
One of the athletes, a 15-year-old, died while three of her colleagues were admitted to hospital under critical conditions after they consumed a poison fruit under an apparent suicide pact following alleged harassment by their seniors at the Water Sports Centre of the SAI in Alapuzha. Suspension of the Paralympics Committee of India: It was a woeful year for para-sports in India as the Paralympics Committee of India (PCI) received a double blow. Following in the footsteps of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Sports Ministry also suspended the PCI following the poor management of the 15th National Para Athletics Championships in Ghaziabad.
The sports ministry suspended the recognition of the National Sports Federation (NSF) immediately till further orders. (UNI)
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