Two much uncertainty

PANAJI: Behind the calm on the faces of senior officials at the Lusofonia Games secretariat at Yatri Niwas in Bambolim, a storm is brewing.
With just 60 days to go for the commencement of the Lusofonia Games 2014, and less than a month for federations to confirm -- by name -- their entries for the nine-discipline event, Goa is in danger of missing out on fielding teams in basketball and wushu.
Much, if not all, of the problem is due to wrangling associations as the respective federations and the Goa Olympic Association (GOA) pull in opposite directions.
Let's take basketball for a start.
The GOA has granted temporary recognition to the Association of Goan Basketball (AGB) but the Basketball Federation of India insists that the Goa Basketball Association -- led by Fr Ralin de Souza -- is the "sole authority to promote, control and regulate the game of basketball in Goa. Further, a communique from the BFI dated October 17, 2013, states, "no other body or agency is authorised to do so."
The GOA, in a letter dated October 12 and written by secretary general Gurudatta Bhakta, had suggested a "temporary freeze to all issues and propose the India Goa basketball team be fielded under the GOA ensuring participation in basketball." The modalities, GOA suggested, could be worked out by the committee appointed by the BFI, GOA and SAG.
The BFI, though, were unwilling to play ball, especially after throwing their entire weight behind the newly-elected body in Goa.
"Team India-Goa basketball team can be prepared and trained by the GBA under the guidance and supervision of trained BFI coaches including foreign coaches. The team can only play under the banner of BFI and GBA. Your proposal to field the team under GOA is not acceptable to BFI," BFI CEO Roopam Sharma wrote in her reply.
Sharma said "there is no current stalemate" to infer temporary freeze since the GBA was "working very effectively."
The basketball squad, initially selected by SAG, has now stopped training and the association impasse has only added to the woes.
Wushu is even worse. The Wushu Association of India has clearly threatened to derail the Lusofonia Games 2014 if the organizing committee continues to liason with an "unauthorized" body registered just two months ago.
The WAI claims Wushu Association of Goa has been existing in Goa for a long time and also sending regular teams for the National championships. The GOA, though, recognizes a new association, All Goa Wushu Sports Association, ostensibly because the other association is governed by "outsiders."
"It is strange why the parallel association members were called to attend the wushu working group meeting. The group is not recognized by the Wushu Association of India. As far as we are concerned, this is not tolerable, and incase you wish to accommodate them in the Games, it is better for us to refrain from the Games," WAI president Bhupender Singh Bajwa wrote in a letter to the Lusofonia Games CEO Keshav Chandra on November 1.
Bajwa, who is also the president of the Goa body, had more complaints.
"The coaching camp has not been organized so far, wushu equipment has not been procured despite so many requests from our side. Moreover, non-approved agencies/dealers have been given room for the procurement of wushu equipment, which is against the norms," said Bajwa.