Not a family outing, be there 100% or don’t go: Govt cracks whip on sports federations ahead of Commonwealth, Asian Games

Cracking the whip on the country’s sports administrators, the government told officials not to treat multi-sports events as an “outing with family,” demanded that they be there for the athletes “100 per cent of the time,” and warned that otherwise “we don’t need you.”

The comments were made by sports secretary Hari Ranjan Rao during the Sports Governance Conclave in Ahmedabad on Friday. The conference was attended by Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Gujarat’s Deputy Chief Minister and Sports Minister Harsh Sanghavi and senior officials from the Indian Olympic Association and National Sports Federations.

Addressing the federations, Rao, who has served as an Additional Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), said: “It would be shameful if a large contingent of officials goes and not one is available when the athlete needs them. They have to be there 100 per cent of the time for the athletes. Please don’t go if you think of this as an outing with relatives. We don’t need you.”

Turning his attention to this year’s Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, he demanded that the federations adhere to the timelines else face repercussions. “The selection criteria (both Commonwealth and Asian Games) is already out. The Organising Committee for the Asian Games in Japan has set January 30 as the deadline for submission of names,” he said. “The IOA must have told you that you have to give names by January 15, including support staff. Are you all ready? If you don’t give names, you might miss the Games. And once you give names, you have to stick to them. Japanese are ruthless, they won’t adjust.”

India’s sports administrators have been criticised for not being available for athletes at big events despite travelling in large numbers.

Rao said the current medal estimate for the Asian Games stands at 111, an improvement on the best-ever haul of 106 at the last edition in Hangzhou. The assessment for the CWG has been revised to a modest 20-odd after sports in which India has traditionally been strong—such as badminton, hockey, shooting and wrestling—were omitted from the programme.

“It can go wrong or be better many times, which will require a lot of effort. CWG would be a bit of a showstopper. Three gold and 22 total medals are expected because it’s a truncated Games,” he said. “But as we prepare, we need to train athletes on etiquette. We will be going to Japan and that is a very sensitive country on food habits, social etiquette. We can’t make even one mistake,” Rao added.

Rao also outlined the country’s 10-year medal strategy, which has the approval of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his presentation, the bureaucrat said: “In 2036, we must get 12 to 14 gold medals and 30 to 35 total medals to be in the top 10 and in 2048 Olympics, 35-40 gold medals and around 100 total medals. Then only we can be in the top-10 club. All the major countries improved their rank substantially when they hosted the Games. China started ‘Project 119’ before the 2008 Beijing Games. They focussed on five disciplines, athletics, swimming, rowing, kayaking-canoeing and sailing for 119 medals.

“These were disciplines in which China was not known to win too many medals…in the Beijing Olympics, they got 48 gold medals, and in these five games, they managed eight gold medals. This is the kind of focus that is expected from all of us and we need to think where we are,” he added.

He then spoke about the 2028 Los Angeles Games, which will feature 353 events, but said India’s participation would be significantly lower than that of countries such as the US and China, which will field large squads across disciplines. “This is a painful scene. We think we will host the Olympics and not even participate in half the disciplines,” he said. “With these kinds of statistics, are we ready to host the 2036 Olympics?”

He then outlined a plan that could have a transformational impact if implemented properly, including setting up Olympic Training Centres for every sport, an AI-driven monitoring mechanism to identify talent, and a National Institute of Sports Science and Research.

Rao also revealed that a Pullela Gopichand-led committee had suggested coaching reforms that would be implemented by the government soon. “We are planning to set up a coaching certification board for tiered certification of different coaches — grassroots, intermediate, elite level,” he said.