MUMBAI: World Archery (WA), the sport’s global governing body has given an ultimatum to the now de-recognised national archery federation of the country, Archery Association of India (AAI) of getting its act right by registering its constitution as per the Sports Code and conducting fresh elections for proper governance and recognition. Should the AAI fail to do so, Indian archers will not get to represent the country but participate under the neutral WA flag in upcoming Olympic qualification tournaments, Press Trust of India reports.
The AAI has been in a deadlock since 2012 after the Government of India took its authoritative rights away for violating the Sports Code. Although the Delhi High Court did appoint former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi as the administrator to set the house in order last year, no drastic steps in the right direction have been taken as yet. WA has on its part, tried to help out India in this regard but is losing its patience due to AAI’s poor sense of urgency.
It has negatively impacted the performance of Indian archers since the Commonwealth Games in 2010 especially in the recurve section. Their participation in the 2019 World Archery Championships, slated in June next year is uncertain as well. It will offer 24 berths to the top eight teams in both men’s and women’s sections, while there will also be a continental qualification tournament next year.
Besides archers, AAI’s mess has not convinced the WA that India deserves hosting rights of a marquee archery event in the near future despite being a potentially huge market to tap for talent as well as audiences owing to the popularity of the sport. Reportedly, the 2019 Asian Archery Championship which was slated in New Delhi has been shifted to Bangkok.
“The current status quo cannot continue indefinitely. At a certain moment we might have to decide that the athletes participate under a neutral World Archery banner. The matter of main concern is the upcoming Olympic qualification tournaments,” Tom Dielen, WA’s general secretary told PTI in an interview from the World Archery headquarters in Lausanne.
“At this stage, we’re are still enthusiastic that a resolution can be reached but this must happen soon. It’s our primary objective. If it does not happen, then further steps will be taken. But those steps will not be designed to punish athletes. However, it is a constitutional requirement that a well-governed member association is in place within a country,” he added.
When it comes to India hosting an event, Dielen commented:
“That requires a functioning national governing body to be a reality. It would be great to have an event, like the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final, in the country. Before that can happen, we need to make sure the proper governance is in place within the country.”
