The sports ministry has written to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to constitute an ad hoc body to run the sport of taekwondo. The directive comes at the back of a Delhi High Court order instructing the ministry to appoint the body.
Hearing a writ petition filed by the Odisha Taekwondo Association, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, in his order dated April 27, in his two-point decision had asked the ministry to replace India Taekwondo with an ad hoc body.
“Till the time recognition as NSF for taekwondo is granted to any suitable organisation, the Union shall constitute an Ad-hoc Committee, within fifteen days from the date of receipt of this order, to carry out the functions and duties of the NSF,” the order read.
“The Union, while deciding any representation on behalf of IT for recognition as the NSF, must have due regard to whether compliance with the requirements under the Sports Code has been made, and also the report of the Ethics Commission submitted pursuant to the decision of this Court in Telangana State Taekwondo Association,” the order added.
The ministry, it is understood, has already asked the IOA to constitute the body before it recognises which amongst India Taekwondo and Taekwondo Federation of India (TFI) is the legitimate body. IOA will decide on this matter after consulting with World Taekwondo.
IOA had replaced TFI with India Taekwondo and constituted an ad hoc body in 2019, which had Namdev Shirgaonkar as its chairman, and SM Bali, Digvijay Singh and a nominee of World Taekwondo as members. However, after giving a conditional recognition to the new federation, IOA’s ethics commission suspended Shirgaonkar in February 2022, and ordered him to be removed “from all positions/nominations given to him by the IOA related to taekwondo and from all India Taekwondo Activities whether as Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee or in any other capacity subsequent to him appointment as the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee.”
‘IOA failed to act’
Despite that order, Shirgaonkar is still at the helm and Justice Kaurav criticised IOA for acting against the interest of athletes and coaches.
“A perusal of the said minutes would indicate that the IOA had granted provisional affiliation to IT on the condition that the persons involved in the formation of IT would not become part of the body later. With respect to this, Respondent No. 3 had assured the IOA that all such requirements would be complied with within six months of the provisional approval. However, in direct violation of the said condition, Respondent No. 3 placed himself at the top of the hierarchy of IT,” Justice Kaurav said in his order.
“The Ethics Commission of the IOA had delivered its findings as to the guilt of Respondent No. 3 as early as 2022. However, the IOA has failed to take any action whatsoever upon furnishing the findings of the Ethic Commission. The Court, therefore, finds that the IOA, by staying silent amidst allegations of mismanagement in the administration of taekwondo, has acted against the interests of the athletes, coaches, and other stakeholders,” he added.
On HC direction, sports ministry asks IOA to constitute ad hoc body for taekwondo
