How Indian athletes brought democracy into sports

For the longest time, Indian athletes across all sports complained of apathy from their governing bodies. Officials’ egos were often given importance over athletes’ needs, and there was much resentment of those in positions of power.

Which is why it was a shock when an email arrived from the National Rifle Association of India on Friday, stating that a recently-introduced selection policy for the forthcoming Rio de Janeiro Olympics had been altered under pressure from the athletes.

The voiceless had found a voice! That voice had not fallen on deaf ears! Some action had actually been taken to address the issues raised by those who toil day and night to bring glory for the country! It was simply unheard of.

You may think this kind of "union-baazi" belongs on the shop floor, not in the exalted corridors of sports administration. If you do, your era may be coming to an end, Mr Senior Sports Administrator.

The draft National Sports Bill has been stuck without Parliament approval because of the reluctance from politicians across party lines to pass it. Some of them treat national and state sports federations like their personal fiefdoms, and that will come under threat if age and tenure restrictions are brought in.

Credit where it’s due, the NRAI was among the first sports bodies in the country to adopt the guidelines that later made up the Bill. It was the first to set up an athletes’ committee, and it is that very body that has today forced this dramatic U-turn.

Broadly, the policy was introduced to level the playing field for Olympic selection. International shooters had to shoot domestic trials in addition to their international competitions, and if a top domestic shooter had a higher average than them even after the addition of bonus points for special achievements, he or she could go for the Olympics.

But those who vie for the top prizes in the sport internationally should not have to shoot an inordinate number of competitions either. Their training schedules go for a toss, and the risk of burnout increases in a crucial year where Olympic qualification should be the primary focus.

Sources said there were grumblings about it from the rifle and pistol shooters at the recent World Cup in Korea, which is when the athletes’ committee heard their concerns and decided to take it up with the higher-ups.

Shotgun shooters had no objections to the new policy. It makes sense that they’d want as many chances as possible to make things right, since their events are held at open-air ranges, unlike rifle and pistol, and even minor changes in the weather can have a huge impact on their scores. Incidentally, both NRAI president Raninder Singh and athletes’ committee chief Moraad Ali Khan are seasoned shotgun shooters.

Kudos are in order to the athletes for raising their voice against a regulation that was potentially detrimental. Kudos also to the athletes’ committee for communicating the shooters’ concerns to the NRAI.

But the biggest kudos of all must go to the NRAI itself, for being willing to look silly but doing what makes the athletes comfortable.

Mr Sports Administrator - if you are looking at this scenario and wondering what to call this, here’s your answer.

It’s called democracy, and it’s a jolly good thing.