SAI vacancies a major concern for sports
The passage of the National Sports Governance Bill and India’s bids for the 2036 Olympics and 2030 Commonwealth Games have been dominating the sporting discourse for a while. In fact, the Commonwealth Games bid, which not too many countries are interested in hosting, has reached an advanced stage where delegations from Commonwealth Sports have visited Ahmedabad, the projected host city. However, hosting big-ticket events or passing a bill is one thing, but developing a strong sporting nation is another.
Given the tall ambitions, severe understaffing at the Sports Authority of India, the nation’s premier body in the field, does not bode well. SAI not only facilitates and funds sports organisations, it also takes care of grassroots development through its training centres and the sports ministry’s flagship Khelo India schemes. Given this, the government’s recent admission in the Rajya Sabha that only 860 of SAI’s sanctioned 1,524 coaching positions are filled should worry us. There are shortages of high-performance coaches (15 of the sanctioned 50 appointed), chief coaches (47 of 100), senior coaches (71 of 200), and assistant coaches. The issue, however, is not about SAI’s efforts on the front—the tepid response to its advertisements reveals a lack of available or interested talent. With more sports academies mushrooming across the country, coaches have found more remunerative careers elsewhere. To counter this, SAI needs to review its policy of giving contractual and on-deputation positions to coaches, who would prefer more job security.
The understaffed sports science wing should be a bigger concern. There is no department head at the moment, nor are there high-performance directors (only three of the allowed 23 positions filled). Scientific support to an athlete should begin from the formative years; so, not having qualified staff is a grave concern for the country’s sporting future. Elite athletes are well taken care of; it’s the grassroots that suffer.
The ministry has tabled an anti-doping bill in parliament but the National Anti-Doping Agency, too, lacks adequate manpower. The government stated that 10 of NADA’s 19 positions are filled; however, the agency’s website lists only six names. The sports ministry and SAI must realise that hosting events will not help build a strong sporting nation, but having a robust coaching programme backed by science will.