Anti-doping on agenda: Sharath Kamal

NEW DELHI: Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) Athletes' Commission on Thursday outlined the key areas during its meeting on Thursday, the first since a truce was reached between the sports body's president PT Usha and the executive council (EC) members.

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The commission, led by table-tennis legend and vice-chairperson Sharath Kamal, identified creating anti-doping awareness, safeguarding players from harassment or any form of abuse, and facilitating career transitions for sportspersons by partnering with universities, multinational companies and corporates as its primary objectives.


The meeting was attended in-person by Sharath, OP Kharana, Bhavani Devi and Shiva Keshavan at the Olympic Bhawan here. Bajrang Lal, Rani Rampal, and PV Sindhu participated online, with inputs also from committee members Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang.

The commission highlighted the need for anti-doping education. Collaborative efforts with the National AntiDoping Agency (Nada) will be pursued to educate athletes.

“Anti-doping is first and foremost on our agenda. The commission will have to work with Nada to ensure that we pull in our resources and reach out to athletes during national and domestic competitions to educate them about diet, supplements and nutrition,” Sharath told TOI.

The commission also discussed the importance of safeguarding athletes and establishing a robust mechanism to protect their rights and well-being.

“It's not just about physical or mental abuse. We need to groom the young athletes about what is safe sport and how to react during situations,” Sharath added.

A key decision was to establish a dedicated ‘Athletes Department' within the IOA, staffed with professionals committed to addressing athlete needs.

Grants from IOC and OCA

The financial framework for these initiatives was also discussed. The commission acknowledged support from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), which provide $10,000 (Rs 8.3 lakh) and $5,000 (Rs 4.15 lakh) grants, respectively, Sharath said.

Lovlina's case discussed

Sharath also informed that Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist boxer Lovlina Borgohain's complaint against Boxing Federation of India (BFI) official, Col (retd) Arun Malik, was discussed, and the commission members called for an expedited resolution.


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