COIMBATORE: What is common between the likes of CWG silver medallist P V Sindhu, chess GM Harika Dronavalli and paddlers Archana Girish Kamath, set to take part in Youth Olympics, and Asian Games-bound Ayhika Mukherjee? They are all Airports Authority of India (AAI) youth products.
Currently, all of them work for other employees. The reason behind this is AAI’s employment policy. They have two schemes for budding sportspersons. One is their scholarship project and the other is their contract programme. While both start from 14 onwards, they have different criteria.
Under the scholarship project, young athletes are chosen and they are paid between Rs 16,000 to Rs 18,000 per month. The more talented players are drafted under the contract programme. There are four slabs: Rs 22,000, Rs 24,000, Rs 28,000 and Rs 30,000. These athletes are also entitled to `70,000 per annum for participating in various national ranking tournaments, `15,000 kit allowance and `1500 per month for medical use.
The contracts last till the age of 25 and under special circumstance, they can be increased on a rolling basis. But at the end of the day, there is no permanent employment opportunity with the organisation.
Most sportspersons need financial security and always look for the highest-paying jobs. So they ultimately leave AAI for pastures new. The cream of the crop is hired by wealthy oil companies.
It was evident in the 48th All India Inter-Institutional Championships, held at the Bharathiar University Indoor Hall here. Almost 40 per cent of the paddlers are ex-AAI. While AAI have to be content with finishing runners-up or semifinalists, their former athletes are winning titles for their new employers.
“You can see it in two ways. There are always pros and cons to everything. We are proud to have nurtured so many of India’s finest talents. If not for us, so many would have slipped through the cracks. We believe in giving an opportunity to raw talent. Once they are accomplished enough, they will always find new takers,” Anuj Aggarwal, member (HR) and president of AAI Sports Control Board, told Express.
“We induct a fresh batch on the basis of their performances over the last two years. We cast our net wide and ensure talent is not wasted. It is worth appreciating. Regarding employment, there have been talks but nothing has been fixed yet. We are open to amendments. Let’s see what happens in the future.”
According to a senior AAI official, what rankles them the most is how they could have been on top of the podium on most occasions rather than the likes of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB).
“We finished runners-up without a coach as well in the women’s team event while we reached the semis among men. There have been a lot of talks regarding changing our policy but the end result has not changed. We will continue to lose our top stars.”
ayantan@newindianexpress.com