Thursday, Aug 22, 2002
Thursday, Aug 22, 2002 |
| Sport | ||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Sport
-
Sports : General
By Our Special Correspondent
In his first interaction with the media on Wednesday after being nominated to head the advisory body, revived after 16 years, Prof. Malhotra said, "I'll be writing to all sports bodies, state sports councils, sports journalists, among others, and invite their viewpoints aimed at improving Indian sports.'' At present, apart from Prof. Malhotra, two vice-presidents _ Mr. Sivanthi Adityan and Mr. Abhay Chautala _ have been named in the AICS. "Soon, a committee of about 20 members, including six Members of Parliament, well-known sportspersons, sports administrators, etc. will be in place,'' he announced. Answering questions he dispelled doubts over any clash of interest between the AICF and the Sports Ministry. "Since Ms. Uma Bharti was the one who asked for the formation of AICS and also sought Cabinet status for the person heading it, I am looking forward to a healthy working relationship with the Ministry. I don't see any problems,'' said Prof Malhotra, who also heads the Archery Association of India. Last month, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports had adopted a resolution comprising a preamble and a 12-point agenda as aims and objectives of the AICS. The AICS, which was dissolved in 1986 when Mr. V.C. Shukla was at the helm, is expected to advise the Sports Ministry on issues, including the implementation of sports policy, matters pertaining to the functioning of national sports federations, ways and means to raise resources for promotion of sports, matters relating to preparation of national teams for multi-discipline events, policies which affect the participation of Indian teams abroad, means to maximise medal prospects in Olympic and other major events, prevention of drug abuse in sports besides issues arising out of match-fixing and other malpractices in competitive sports. Prof. Malhotra spoke of working towards increasing the sports budget and adopting means to help maximum utilisation of the available infrastructure in the country. "To improve the scenario, the sports budget will have to be increased. We can look ahead for some supplementary grants and then wait and see what happens in the next budget. We have to look at our priorities and make optimum use of the available funds. Also, ways have to be worked out to ensure increased participation in sports,'' he said. Prof. Malhotra also said that the gains from the recent Manchester Commonwealth Games were very heartening but things would be much tougher in the Asian Games. "With hardly any time left for the Busan Asian Games, we cannot do much about our preparations. But we have to start planning for the Olympic Games (in 2004),'' was how Prof. Malhotra put it. He also looked ahead to interacting with the Chief Ministers, officials of the School Games Federation as well as the Association of Indian Universities. Prof. Malhotra also promised to meet the mediapersons early next month and hold an interactive session in the presence of sports administrators and sportspersons.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2002, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
