New Delhi: Athletes reacted with anger but the officialdom chose to weigh its words before responding to Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief Narinder Batra’s assertion that the Commonwealth Games (CWG) is a waste of time and the country should consider a permanent pullout.
Narinder Batra, while speaking at an event Tuesday in Bangalore, said the level of competition at the CWG is not particularly high and that India should consider a pullout to improve their own standards.
The statement has context as Batra had earlier called for an Indian boycott of the 2022 CWG in Birmingham over the axing of shooting from the Games program due to logistical issues. Shooting has been a major contributor to India’s CWG tally and the nation stands second, with 134 medals, in the overall count won from the sport.
“It (Batra’s statement) is not acceptable,” said one of India’s currently most successful table tennis players G Sathiyan, who claimed two silver and a bronze medal in the 2018 edition in Gold Coast.
The shooting fraternity chose to sidestep queries on Narinder Batra’s comment but others were upfront.
Boxing star Vijender Singh, who is the first and only male pugilist with an Olympic medal to his credit, said Batra’s statement is heartbreaking as it undermines athletes’ hard work.
“It is heartbreaking. By this logic, India should not send teams to invitational tournaments either because the level of competition is not like the Olympics or the World Championship,” said Vijender Singh who has two silver and a bronze from the three CWGs he competed in.
“Why belittle the athletes’ achievements? And in any case, CWG has strong boxing nations such as England and Ireland in fray,” added Vijender Singh.
The 2014 Glasgow CWG gold medallist shuttler Parupalli Kashyap also differed with Batra, who also heads the International Hockey Federation (FIH) also.
“It is ridiculous to think of boycotting the Commonwealth Games. I don’t think the standard is low. I didn’t have it easy when I beat all these players during the 2010 edition (when he won bronze) and the 2014 Games,” Kashyap recalled. “It is not like we are winning all the gold medals. Even in badminton, there are teams like Malaysia, England who are tough,” he added.
In fact, 2010 CWG gold medallist discus thrower Krishna Poonia said the Commonwealth competition in athletics is stiffer than the Asian Games, which is generally perceived to be tougher by the sporting fraternity. “For athletics, CWG is world class, the competition is of higher level than the Asian Games,” Krishna Poonia asserted.
A top official from the national federation of a prominent Olympic sport asked if Batra would deem the competition good enough if shooting is brought back. “Someone should ask him will the CWG regain significance if shooting is accepted back on the roster. May be he will have a different view to offer,” the official asserted.
Two-time CWG gold medallist weightlifter Sathish Sivalingam said a medal at the Games provides job security to a lot of athletes and that shouldn’t be taken away.
“I am completely against the pullout. The Commonwealth Games are a big event for us. Medal-winning performances in the CWG bring a lot of incentives like jobs and money etc. So for us, this competition is important,” pointed out Sivalingam.
Former India hockey captain Zafar Iqbal, who was part of the 1980 Olympic gold medal-winning team termed Batra’s statement ‘ridiculous’.
“That’s a ridiculous statement coming from a man who is holding numerous important positions in national as well as international sports federations,” Zafar Iqbal said.” Commonwealth Games is the biggest competition after Olympics in terms of participation of countries. Seventy two countries took part in the last CWG. And if you talk about hockey, all top nations like Australia, New Zealand, and Great Britain is there,” he added.
Archer Rahul Banerjee, a gold medallist at the 2010 Delhi CWG, said all talk of pullout started only after shooting was excluded and the administrators ought to answer why the competitiveness of the event didn’t matter before that.
“If Commonwealth Games were so easy why only a few disciplines like wrestling, shooting and boxing earn India the bulk of medals?” Banerjee asked.
“Obviously we can’t compare CWG with the Olympics which is above all, even the World Championships. So does that mean we will not value a World Championship medal and won’t send a team there,” shot back Banerjee
PTI