"Monikadevi out of Beijing Olympics" --- read a breaking news on an English news channel this morning. For people who are not well read ----Monikadevi is the sole weight lifter(69kg category) from India to have been selected for the Beijing Games. Let me tell you this is no ordinary news because Monikadevi wasnt allowed to go to Beijing in the first place amidst all those doping controversies (as per the charges).
Just two days prior to leaving for the Olympics Monikadevi was accused of doping charges and her dreams were shattered. But this morning came the news that she had been falsely trapped in this controversy after she was cleared of the above charges. All this dates back to early this year when Monikadevi's adversary Shailaja Pujari was selected ahead of her for the Olympics. Later it was found that Shailaja's selection was propelled by bribing a regional selector and thus justice prevailed when Monikadevi was finally picked for the Olympics and deservedly so after winning the silver at Doha Asian Games.
The above mentioned selector (belonging to Sports Authority Of India [SAI])then decided to teach Monikadevi a lesson(actually more out of disgust over the fact that a girl from his region wasnt selected) by falsely managing to get her sample test positive just prior to her departure for the games. Undoubtedly Monikadevi was in disbelief as she had been a clean athlete all her life having cleared 30 doping tests till date. She infact challenged the authorities to shoot her dead if she was found positive of doping after landing in Beijing. But the Indian Weightlifting Federation(IWF) could not risk sending her because if by any chance she was tested positive then IWF could be banned.
I am certainly not a weightlifting aficionado but I felt abashed as an Indian when today she was disallowed from travelling to Beijing after being cleared of the charges levelled against her (by an independent enquiry carried out by IOA). I could not help but feel sorry when pictures of Monikadevi shedding tears were being flashed on news channels.
I completely disapprove of the treatment meted out to a sportswoman (from a small village in Manipur in this case) who had toiled for the past 4 years living an Olympic dream. It takes a lot of hardwork & perseverance to be a part of your nation's contingent for the Olympics and IOA has absolutely no right to demand medals from our athletes when it cannot take care of its own athletes. IOA should bring in selectors who are ready to put the athletes welfare above personal aggrandizement.
I hope there are people around her to give her that much needed support at this juncture when she stands stranded in this situation. May be she should sue the SAI(Sports authority of India) over this fiasco and ensure that something as serious as this never happens to another athlete.
JAI HIND!
Just two days prior to leaving for the Olympics Monikadevi was accused of doping charges and her dreams were shattered. But this morning came the news that she had been falsely trapped in this controversy after she was cleared of the above charges. All this dates back to early this year when Monikadevi's adversary Shailaja Pujari was selected ahead of her for the Olympics. Later it was found that Shailaja's selection was propelled by bribing a regional selector and thus justice prevailed when Monikadevi was finally picked for the Olympics and deservedly so after winning the silver at Doha Asian Games.
The above mentioned selector (belonging to Sports Authority Of India [SAI])then decided to teach Monikadevi a lesson(actually more out of disgust over the fact that a girl from his region wasnt selected) by falsely managing to get her sample test positive just prior to her departure for the games. Undoubtedly Monikadevi was in disbelief as she had been a clean athlete all her life having cleared 30 doping tests till date. She infact challenged the authorities to shoot her dead if she was found positive of doping after landing in Beijing. But the Indian Weightlifting Federation(IWF) could not risk sending her because if by any chance she was tested positive then IWF could be banned.
I am certainly not a weightlifting aficionado but I felt abashed as an Indian when today she was disallowed from travelling to Beijing after being cleared of the charges levelled against her (by an independent enquiry carried out by IOA). I could not help but feel sorry when pictures of Monikadevi shedding tears were being flashed on news channels.
I completely disapprove of the treatment meted out to a sportswoman (from a small village in Manipur in this case) who had toiled for the past 4 years living an Olympic dream. It takes a lot of hardwork & perseverance to be a part of your nation's contingent for the Olympics and IOA has absolutely no right to demand medals from our athletes when it cannot take care of its own athletes. IOA should bring in selectors who are ready to put the athletes welfare above personal aggrandizement.
I hope there are people around her to give her that much needed support at this juncture when she stands stranded in this situation. May be she should sue the SAI(Sports authority of India) over this fiasco and ensure that something as serious as this never happens to another athlete.
JAI HIND!
6 comments:
i completely agree with ur point.........treatment meted out to her was not only harsh but also discouraging for people who are putting their life on line for the country..........
I feel agitated and at the same time sorry for such a wonderful sports woman. I completely believe "personal aggrandizement" as another face of Ego is detrimental to not just one self but to the society too.
We are so sensitive to someone's hurting us and are too speedy about meeting the balance of hatred that it is outweighs our so called cultured society image.
i think it is because of this attitude of the indian officials that stagnates indian sport.it is only when people think beyond personal gain and keep aside egos will India truly progress,not only in sports but in all fields.we have no moral right to blame the athletes for lack lusture performances.the government is to be put to blame.
undoubtedly Monikadevi was a victim of the so called "politics"...but a sportsperson weeping and sodden in tears, that too on a national news channel, reflects a pusillanimous charecter of the lady, which we dnt associate with sportsperson...i do agree wid nickel that all her travail has gone in vain...her dreams to represent INDIA...to bring glory to the nation have gone in thin air...but its not the end of the world...entire nation`s sympathy n support is with her...its tym dat she does a pheonix act n prove her mettle to the world, rather than organizing protests n rallies thereby giving the entire situation a political edge....
she should definetly take legal actions against the authorites and various people involved, but at the same tym concentrate n work hard on her future...
and had IOA n SAI appointed selectors that were fair n unbaised in selection process, it wudnt have taken us 28 yrs to win a gold
being an optimist i strongly believe Monikadevi will makes us proud in London...and gud wrk nikhil to bring out these important issues that get diminished from the papers n our memory...
Its really sad to see Indian sports under such mismanagement... playing politics with sportsmen is not only disrespecting sportsmanship but also disrespecting ones country. but then such people forget that they might hide the facts for a while but truth comes out one day or the other and history is witness for this...well done nikhil..there are many issues that dont get the importance they deserve and you are throwing spotlight on them...
isha
www.this-is-called-life.blogspot.com
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