NEW DELHI: The newly-elected office bearers of Archery Association of India (AAI) will hold their Executive Committee Meeting as well as Annual General Meeting on February 22. The main points in their agenda include talks of lifting World Archery (WA) suspension fully as well as restoring Sports Ministry recognition.
The main point of contention for WA was regarding athlete membership and had instructed AAI to update its constitution to clarify the situation. There are plans to discuss this issue and sort out the mess. The members are hopeful that by March, the issue will be resolved.
“Amending the constitution needs a notice to be sent to all state associations. A final call on this will be taken soon,” an AAI official said. With regards to sports ministry recognition, AAI feel that after the Delhi High Court hearing on February 14, it is just a matter of time before things are sorted. The court will read the Returning Officer’s report and the sports ministry might be waiting for the court’s nod before granting recognition. The ministry had sent its observer to the election and his positive report has already reached the ministry and there is no other reason for not granting AAI its recognition status.
The other agenda was regarding finalising the national calendar and holding the senior and junior nationals. With March being an examination month, the AAI have zeroed in on April. “We will definitely finish hosting all nationals by April. Archers have suffered enough and now that the elections are over, we plan to conduct them in a smooth manner,” AAI secretary Pramod Chandurkar said. While venues are yet to be decided, sources have said Jharkhand may host the senior meet while the junior meet could be in Maharashtra. The issue of five states missing out on elections due to not procuring registration certificates will also be discussed at the AGM.
Funding is a major headache but the body is hopeful that once the sports ministry gives them the green light, sponsorships can be procured and NTPC, their sponsors, will grant them more funds in the coming days. Other talking points include formation of sub-committees and planning for Tokyo Olympics, Paralympics, while preparing a roadmap to ensure full quota in the women’s section. There might be deliberations on the Sports Code as well.