AFI permission mandatory for players who wish to train abroad
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has not taken lightly of Indians training abroad without seeking prior permission. Early this week an Indian athlete Aman Malik was arrested with doping substances by the officials of Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Iten, Kenya.
A few Indian athletes, including Aishwarya Mishra, who is the fastest Indian woman quarter miler and another young track star, Unnathi Aiyappa are in England without getting the necessary clearances from the federation.
Mishra’s case raises eyebrows as she clocked 51.12seconds to win the 400m gold in February and also broke her own National Games record. But she is not part of the Indian team for the World Relays as she has skipped all domestic meets so far as she has chosen to train with former World Champion hurdler Dai Greene in Loughborough, England.
To check all this, the AFI on Saturday came out with guidelines that make it mandatory for all athletes to seek permission to train abroad. The AFI further threatened disciplinary action against individuals who fail to adhere to the rules.
“The performance of the athletes will be invalid for record books if they don’t take mandatory approval of the AFI for an international exposure,” the AFI president Bahadur Singh Sagoo said.
“The athlete must apply at least 30 days prior to the date of the competition to AFI along with proof of an invitation. Recommendation letter from respective department or institution is mandatory if applicable. The approval or rejection of the permission shall be communicated in writing within a one-week,” the AFI president added.
The new guideline is another step by the federation to keep a check on performances and dope cheats. Already the AFI has a policy where athletes need to compete in domestic competition in order to get selected in the Indian team.
“The AFI must be aware of the number of individual athletes competing abroad and the purpose of that international exposure. Irrespective of their level or institutional affiliation, the athletes must obtain prior written permission from the AFI office before sending entries to compete for any international competition on foreign soil in future,” Sagoo said.
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