The Equestrian Federation of India, facing flak from the Delhi High Court for changing the Asian Games selection criteria during the selection process and awaiting a judgement on the membership of several army units, including veterinary hospitals and transport companies, is facing fire from another front.
Athlete Commission Chairperson Vanita Malhotra and member Nadia Haridass, both 2014 Asian Games competitors, have resigned this week. Their resignations have not only left EFI officials red-faced and scrambling to find replacements but also raised questions about how EFI has only paid lip service about hearing the athletes voice.
Having shot from her shoulders in that meeting, EFI ignored subsequent mail to the Federation suggesting that instead of lowering the standards, original selection guidelines should be adhered to or the last date for securing the three Minimum Eligibility Requirements be extended to June 2023. She has her reasons to be miffed with the Federation.
Vanita Malhotra was categorical in stating that the voice of the athletes needs to be heard. “There is a strong need of the elected committees to be in place to take decisions regarding the interest of the athletes and in the interest of the sport,” she wrote. The athletes would have been left wishing that she had been as forceful and mindful when met the Committee of Experts last month.
Nadia Haridass, who competed in the 2014 Asian Games Dressage competition in Incheon, wrote in her resignation letter that the effectiveness, role and integration of the Athlete Commission and supporting committees needs to be improved to support the Equestrian community at large. It is likely that she was not consulted about either the changed selection criteria or the bid to lower it.
MS Rathore, who had resigned earlier, said he would definitely throw his hat in the ring when the Athlete Commission elections happen in the future. Lt. Col. Raj Sangram Singh, who was Vice Chairperson, resigned in February last year since he was posted in a high-altitude field area and unable to discharge his duties as a part of the EFI Athlete Commission.
The only member left now is Suresh Kumar whose son impersonated a Nepali rider in the Tent-Pegging World Cup qualifier in Greater Noida in 2021. In the annual general meeting held on March 27, 2022, he pleaded that the sanctions to the impersonating riders be commuted. Curiously, he apologised for any mistakes he made in discharging his duties as Athlete Commission member.
The Athlete Commission was formed in September 2019 upon the insistence of the Indian Olympic Association, which had reduced EFI to an Associate Member status without voting rights.
Be that as it may, the EFI Statutes stipulate that three of the five members in the Athlete Commission would be elected and two would be nominated by the President to bring in gender equality. While the Statutes lay down that only those with at least a medal in the senior National competitions would be eligible to contest, it is silent on who could be a part of the electoral college.
Also with a July 2020 Delhi High Court order preventing Lt. Gen. SS Mishra and Lt. Gen. MKS Yadav from acting as interim President and Vice-President (Administration) respectively, EFI has been without a head who is empowered by the Statutes to nominate two persons to the Athlete Commission to bring in gender equality.
Despite this, some EFI officials are attempting to urgently nominate riders to the Athlete Commission. Their desperation stems from the fact that they had, in their wisdom, added the responsibility of dealing with sexual harassment complaints. They clearly have not read the National Sports Development Code of India 2011 and the guidelines to form such a committee.
Then again, a Federation that is paying its lawyers hefty fees for each appearance in multiple court cases, has had no time to read, let alone comply with the National Sports Code.
