IGU continues to cold-shoulder sports governance hints

By G. Rajaraman

Indian sports circles believed sports governance took a turn for the better in the wake of court orders, the International Olympic Committee’s threat to suspend the Indian Olympic Association and the involvement of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

The December 10 elections in the wake of changes in the IOA constitution was seen as the dawn of a new era.

The focus has been so much on the Indian Olympic Association that the Indian Golf Union (IGU) election has escaped the attention of all and sundry.

Has IGU been flying under the radar? Or have the powers-that-be looked the other way when IGU called for elections at the Qutab Golf Course in New Delhi on December 24, 2022? 

Two points were touted as key changes in Indian sports governance – the exponential increase in the number of women in the IOA Electoral College and the arrival of athletes in the Executive Council through Athletes Commission and Sportsperson of Merit chosen by the Athlete Council.

Even the IGU constitution has a rule that requires each State Association to authorise two representatives each (one gentleman and preferably one lady) to attend the IGU Annual General meeting.

A cursory look at the Electoral College will reveal that 29 units have hidden behind the word ‘preferably’ to not nominate lady representatives to the IGU Electoral College.

No movement

As for the inclusion of Athlete Commission representatives and Sportspersons of Merit in the IGU Executive Council, there has been not even a hint of movement in that direction.

And nobody in power has deemed it important to ask for IGU to form an Athlete Commission and include its representatives in the Executive Council.

Indeed, the IGU Electoral College offers only a wry smile to the Sports Governance reforms said to have been sparked in India by a collaboration of forces.

Interestingly, the Delhi High Court directed that only state associations which are compliant to the National Sports Development Code of India 2011 be granted the right to vote in the Table Tennis Federation of India elections held recently.

It is anybody’s guess how many of the IGU State units would be National Sports Code-compliant.

It is interesting that Lt. Gen. D Anbu (retd.), who represented the North Star Golf Association, Jammu and Kashmir, in the last IGU elections and was elected President, has been nominated by All Golf Clubs Association, Tamil Nadu, to the Electoral College this time.

It is possible that he will be seeking re-election as President.

Change rejected

The change of States would not have raised eyebrows had not the Returning Officer, Justice O.P. Garg, retired Judge of the Allahabad High Court, ruled that North Star Golf Association did not have the right to represent Jammu and Kashmir.

He decided that JK Golf Association would be the correct representative from Jammu and Kashmir.

While there is no record to show that the JK Golf Association was granted affiliation to IGU after the Returning Officer’s ruling, it is not immediately clear how the Golf Federation of Haryana, Sone Gana Golf Association (Bihar) and Mizoram Golf Association have secured berths in the Electoral College after having missed out the last time.

For its part, Golf Karnataka was accorded recognition on March 14, 2021.

The Association of Golf Clubs, Assam, has replaced the Assam Golf Association in the Electoral College this time.

Association of Golf Clubs claims that it follows all the laid down guidelines and was accorded recognition on May 11, 2022. A spokesperson of AGCA said that the Assam Golf Association was not representing the golfing community and could not prove the support of 50 per cent of the State’s IGU-affiliated clubs.

But the moot question doing the rounds of the golf circles has been: Why are the ranks of the army officers, serving or retired, not disclosed in the Electoral College list?  

There are as many as six officers of Lieutenant General rank, a Lieutenant Colonel and a Major and perhaps some more. It is well-known that officers are entitled to retain their rank before their names. 

The larger debating point, however, is how the excited talk of reforms in sports governance appears to be ushered into Indian sports organisations rather inconsistently.

After all, what’s sauce for the goose must be sauce for the gander. If Indian sport is to make significant progress, such reforms must be employed across the board rather than in a handful of bodies. (courtesy circleofsport.com)

Also read: India fly under the radar at Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship