CHENNAI: The Indian Olympic Association’s Athletes Commission had its first meeting on Saturday and had discussed among other things, wrestlers’ protest at Jantar Mantar. Since this was the first meeting, the commission discussed various ways through which athletes’ interest can be looked into.
However, the point that turned into a sore point was whether to extend support to the wrestlers or not. It is learnt that the panel’s virtual meeting headed by commission vice chairperson Sharath Kamal even decided to release a statement explaining their position in the whole fiasco. Mary Kom, the chairperson of the commission, apparently was not available. They initially thought of extending its support but later in the evening on Saturday it was put on hold after a senior member intervened.
The IOA seems divided with one side thinking it would be good to support the top wrestlers but at the same time another section felt it might be too late. The wrestlers’ protest has already taken political turn with leaders from the opposition visiting them and they did not want to complicate matters. This will also not reflect poorly on the IOA president PT Usha who just a few days ago said that the wrestlers lacked discipline and their protest is damaging to the country’s image.
Until afternoon there has been no update. Those who attended the meeting were Sharath Kamal, Rani Rampal, OP Karhana and Abhinav Bindra. Even Shiva Keshavan attended the meeting. The commission too seemed divided. Interestingly, Bindra and Rampal had already posted their support on twitter earlier.
The commission then decided to write a strongly-worded letter to the IOA president and submit their letter as well. The commission may not release a formal statement showing their support for the protesting wrestlers but they are standing with them. "I don't know if a formal statement will be issued by us but we want to stand with the wrestlers," a member inside the Commision told this daily. "We are aware that we are already late on this issue. With regards to the statement, we may not circulate it to the press but we will likely forward it to the IOA."