'Ministry must look into conflict of interest'

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the sports ministry to consider the issue of conflict of interest in sports and take steps including counselling players who complain about injustice being meted out to them.
The directions were given by a division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice BP Colabawalla while disposing off a second petition by shuttler Prajakta Sawant in which she again alleged bias by chief coach P Gopichand, who is also a selector and runs a private academy.
Earlier, the court had sought the response of Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the ministry. SAI's affidavit, submitted by its advocate Rajiv Chavan, stated that there is nothing wrong with the selection process which is based on performance and no discrimination is allowed.
Badminton Association of India's advocate Nimay Dave said the selection committee comprises experienced and honoured players and some were also coaches. He said the chief coach's job is honorary and it has been a practice all along for them to run private academies. "In every sport the world over, coaches are going to have their private academies," said Dave.
Dave also said that Sawant has had issues with her doubles partners, made allegations against every selector and opted out of training. "She is a player who has absolutely gone astray, She has not performed and that is the only reason she was not selected," said Dave.
In their order, the judges observed: "It will be in the fitness of things that the issue is considered" by the ministry. "In any case, we hope that whenever there are issues such as present one, the authorities will take necessary steps including counselling of players who make grievance of injustice." They disposed off the petition "with the hope that good sense prevails". "We have not given (BAI) a clean chit or a certificate," said Justice Shah in a concluding note.