‘All sports federations will have to follow NADA norms on doping. BCCI can’t escape from it’

Ajay Maken: It’s unfortunate that eight of our star athletes have tested positive and it’s a setback in our preparations for the London Olympics. Four of these girls were our medal hopes. We have now set up the Justice Mudgal committee (to probe into the doping scandal),we have sacked the Ukranian coach who was responsible for training these girls,action has been taken against seven Sports Authority of India officials,and the NADA disciplinary panel is looking at what punishment can be given to them within the WADA norms. But I strongly feel—this is not to give a clean chit to the athletes—that this could not have taken place without the active connivance of coaches and officials. These athletes come to national training camps at a very tender age and India has the guru-shishya parampara,wherein whatever the guru says,the shishya follows. But (the coaches) can’t escape the blame. NADA and WADA norms only penalise the athletes,so I thought it would be proper if we go beyond the athletes so that these incidents do not happen in the future. That is why we have taken action against the coaches.

Secondly,food supplements brought to the national camps have to be tested batch-wise by NDTL (National Dope Testing Laboratory) or some other qualified laboratory before being given to the athletes. So these are the two things we have come up with because the girls said ‘we took whatever the coaches gave us’ and the coach says he bought some Chinese supplement Gensing,which was contaminated—and I found out that Gensing was not even on the NIN list. So there has to be one list and then a batch-wise testing.

Nihal Koshie: Are you assuming that the food supplements were contaminated or are you also investigating if it was a case of organised doping?

Ajay Maken: Justice Mudgal has been asked to look into not only the food supplements but also if there was an organised supply. There can be connivance. Suppose NIS (National Institute of Sports),Patiala,says ‘all our stock is depleted’,and they go out and purchase,then there can be a connivance of NIS officials,the coaches and the chemist outside. So all these things are being looked at.

Nihal Koshie: Over the last two decades,Indian athletes have made many trips to Ukraine. There is this argument that whenever we go there,like before the Commonwealth Games,we perform exceptionally well. Why is it that we go to Ukraine so often and are you looking at other options as well?

Ajay Maken: All these girls,along with the same (Ukranian) coach,met me a couple of weeks before they tested positive and requested that they be sent for training in Yalta (Ukraine). I had been appointed Sports Minister some months ago and when these girls,who had won gold medals for us at Commonwealth and Asian Games,came to me saying,‘The weather conditions are good there,the facility,the sports science backup is good and we promise a gold medal in the Olympics if we train there for three months’,I pushed their case. I thought these girls are our gold medallists and the coach has been with them for 10 years. But as soon as they tested positive,I sacked the coach because,as you said,I realised that on their trips to Ukraine,something wrong was taking place.

Also,sports has become a science now. But we don’t have any experts in sports physiology,sports biomechanics,biochemistry,psychology,nutrition,anthropometry. So I have set up a committee under the sports secretary and I have roped in experts. By the end of this month,they are going to decide and we will set up a National Institute of Sports Sciences very soon for all these seven disciplines and general training and practice. I think redefining the role of NIS Patiala and getting scientific back-up here is the key. You can no longer just run and win the medal.

Coomi Kapoor: Till now,the Sports Ministry has spent its budget on events rather than training at the grassroots level. Would you like to change anything in the ministry’s functioning?

Ajay Maken: Yes,international events use up a large amount of the budget if you total the money spent on conducting the Games last year and Asian Games earlier. But I think if we are able to utilise the infrastructure that the Commonwealth Games has created,we can produce medals. What we have started with is that we are going to create five national academies here of different sports. The Talkatora stadium has the best swimming pool in Asia,the Yamuna Velodrome is even better than the Beijing velodrome,so if we can set up the national academy of swimming and cycling here,with hostel facilities for the best 100-150 talented athletes from all over the country and get them to train here,then,maybe not in 2012 but in 2016,we can definitely produce medals.

Nistula Hebbar: A senior leader in your party,Mr Digvijaya Singh,has expressed a lot of sympathy for Mr Kalmadi. As Sports Minister,how do you feel about Kalmadi?

Ajay Maken: I have gone through the Shunglu committee report and all the files in the Sports Ministry and I don’t have any sympathy for Mr Kalmadi. And prima facie,there is a strong case of corruption and he should not be spared.

Sobhana K: We all know that the Commonwealth Games was hit by scams. For any future games,what is the one major lesson that you have learnt from Delhi 2010?

Ajay Maken: We can’t say no to such future events; it’s not that we will not bid for the Olympics. We are working on this and we will submit a report to the Prime Minister as well. In 2003,when the Host City Contract (with the Commonwealth Games Federation) was signed,it was mentioned that the Organising Committee (OC) will be chaired by the IOA president,so this automatic selection was the biggest flaw. Secondly,the Host City Contract should be signed between the city and the CGF; not the country and the CGF. Even in the London Games,the contract was signed by the Mayor of London and the International Olympic Council. But in our case,because of political reasons,the Host City Contract was not approved by the Delhi Cabinet but the Union Cabinet,so after that,the government of the country was not able to make any changes to that. In the future,if Asian Games come to us,and they say that whatever you spent would be recoverable,then we should go to a bank to spend the money for the Games and the government of the country should be the sovereign guarantor. That is something they did in London,and we didn’t do here.

Dilip Bobb: What are your views on politicians running sports federations?

Ajay Maken: I intend to bring in a National Sports Development Bill,which says that 25 per cent of all the executive body members should be sportspersons. Secondly,there has to be age and tenure norms—beyond 70 years of age and beyond two tenures,that is eight years, you cannot be the office bearer of any federation. We have made an exception only for the president of a federation—a maximum of three terms,which is 12 years. These norms are taken directly from IOC charter. Also,all elections have to be recorded through secret ballot,electoral rolls have to be put up on the website one month before elections. We have also put a Sports Lokayukta in the Bill who will be a retired high court judge and he will dispose off petitions of players and disputes between federations within a time-bound plan. Also,federations have to put up seven things on their website annually—selection criteria,accounts,annual calendar of events,nationals,club system,their women and men championships and their coaching camps. We have put up legislative backing to anti-doping norms that all sports federations,even cricket,has to follow. We are hopeful that once the Bill is passed,it will change the face of Indian sports.

Sumegha Gulati: Do you think there will be a merger between HI and IHF?

Ajay Maken: Everything seemed to be on track but unfortunately,the inflated egos of our sports federation bosses are preventing this. The dispute has been going on for many years,and it has become the ruin of Indian hockey. We are trying several things for them to come together,but if nothing happens,we will take a decision in the first week of August and inform the Supreme Court.

Vishesh Kumar (Bal Bharti School,class XI): How do you plan to introduce anti-doping norms in cricket,considering BCCI has a knack of getting its way in most things?

Ajay Maken: Once it becomes a law,all sports federations will have to follow the NADA norms. BCCI can’t escape from it. It will become the law of the land.

Uthra G. Chaturvedi: The PYKKA (Panchayat Yuva Krida and Khel Abhiyan) scheme is targeted at the grassroots. The way scams are being unearthed,what does the ministry plan to do ensure that youngsters stay away from doping?

Ajay Maken: Doping has not percolated to the PYKKA level. Last year,four million participated in these games. All those who come first,second and third in district games are automatically inducted into SAI training centre schemes and hostels. We give Rs 2 lakh to every village panchayat and Rs 5 lakh to every block panchayat to have a play-field to take care of the infrastructure.

Sandeep Sancheti (The Indian School,class XI): What is the Sports Ministry doing to bring more corporate sponsorships to sports other than cricket?

Ajay Maken: I have discussed this with many corporate houses and CEOs and the answer that has come up is that you have a set of people who are holding important posts in the federations for decades and there is no transparency or accountability that the money that the corporates put will directly go to the athletes. In cricket,the money is through telecast rights and sponsorships that the BCCI or ICC gets. Corporates are ready to adopt sports like hockey and pump in a lot of money,but they want actual development of the sport and don’t want the money to go into the pockets of those who are trying to cling on to their positions. So,the first step is to reform sports federations through the legislation and the rest will fall in line.

Smriti Sinha: After the Commonwealth Games,a lot of athletes said they were frustrated because the foreign coaches were going back and camps were ending.

Ajay Maken: After the Olympics,we will have coaches for a four-year cycle. Because of the short span for which we hire them,many good coaches don’t come to India. Besides,coaches feel there are no selection criteria here. Elsewhere,if there is a football coach,he will not only train but also select his team. Here,selection is done by people in the federation and other considerations come in.

Sonali Sharma (The Indian School,class XI): Why is that most charges against players arise after they have achieved success?

Ajay Maken: Eight players have tested positive and three of them are gold medallists,others are not. I’m happy that others are not testing positive.

Daksh Panwar: Your predecessor MS Gill believed that Formula One is not a sport,what is the ministry’s stand now?

Ajay Maken: Our draft sports legislation has listed motor sports as a sport,and if you look at all the sports channels,they show motor sports,all the newspaper sports pages have motor racing and Formula One,so how can you not call it a sport? But there are other issues as far as organising it is concerned,but motor sports is definitely a sport.

Coomi Kapoor: You have been associated with Delhi for over two decades and been in the Delhi government for many years. Is it your ambition to be Chief Minister some day?

Ajay Maken: Well,definitely yes. I would be lying if I said no.

Transcribed by Smriti Sinha