NEW DELHI: The Indian Golf Union, the governing body of the game in the country, is in a quandary after the IGU lost official status as a national sports federation recognised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, effective April 1.
Following up on its letter dated February 23, 2017 on this matter, the ministry again wrote to the IGU on March 28, Hindustan Times reports. “It is noticed that the term of the present president of IGU (Wg Cdr Satish Aparajit (retd)) has expired in November 2017 and the IGU has not held its election so far… Recognition can be considered by the ministry after the elections are held and the constitution of IGU is compliant with the Sports Code,” the ministry letter, accessed by HT, stated.
Not only the ministry, the Indian Olympic Association, too, had urged the IGU (in a letter dated September 6, 2017) to fall in line, the daily further reports.
The immediate fallout of the move by the Sports Ministry, perfectly justified it needs noting seeing as enough advance notice had been given, is that the IGU is not eligible to receive funding or send teams for international tournaments.
With the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta just over four months away, chances that the IGU will be able to hold elections and become Sports Code compliant before that appear exceedingly dim. Which implies that for Indian golfers to compete in Jakarta, it would perforce have to be under a banner other than the IGU’s.
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