The Sports Authority of India (SAI) ran into an unwanted controversy ahead of the upcoming Asian Games in China as Dipa Karmakar’s coach Bishweshwar Nandi criticized the Apex National Sports Body’s decision to omit several notable gymnasts including his student Dipa Karmakar from the China-bound list.
Despite winning the continental event trials, Dipa was disqualified from selection since she hadn’t previously competed because of injury and doping ban) and didn’t have a score that would have placed her in the eighth position at the previous Asian Games.
“She (Dipa) told me she wants to be in gymnastics for the next 2-3 years and will not give up despite this. But this decision to randomly pull out some rule to stop gymnasts from going to Hangzhou will destroy Indian gymnastics,” The Indian Express quoted Nandi as saying.
The rule, set on July 10, said “In individual events during the last twelve months prior to the commencement of the event, the performance of the sportspersons should not be less than the performance achieved by the 8th position holder of the 2018 Asian Games in measurable sports.”
Bishweshwar asserted that the person responsible for picking the gymnasts by applying the regulation lacked the necessary qualifications and arbitrarily applied the criterion.
“He claims to be a coach and expert but he’s never coached any real gymnast on the mat. He’s never had a student who’s reached anywhere, and for 25 years he’s been doing a clerical job, but he got to decide who goes and who doesn’t. Indian gymnastics ka satyaanash kar diyaa (Indian gymnastics has been destroyed),” Nandi said.
“He’s not aware of ground realities. Let this person who applied the criterion get onto the ground, spot talent and coach them to any good level. Then he’ll know how things work in gymnastics in terms of peaking for a competition instead of making up rules arbitrarily,” Nandi added, denying the claim about Dipa admitting she wasn’t eligible.
“They asked us to send an application and give in writing, despite her topping the trials which the federation had informed SAI about. She only wrote the truth that she had been out of competition due to suspension and injury for two years, so she couldn’t fulfill the new criterion of a Top 8 finish in the last two years. How could she when she wasn’t in competition?” Nandi said.
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