Beyond The Goal

S Ravindra Bhat is not a sportsperson. Neither he is a sports administrator. But he has done something praiseworthy which not even the government couldn’t do in all these years. Well, Mr Bhat is a judge and is credited with a historical ruling which has considerably expanded the scope of the Right to Information (RTI) Act on sports associations. Last week, the Delhi Hight Court has asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the Commonwealth Games Organising Commitee (OC) to shed opacity and set up an office to disseminate information and depute a public information officer (PIO). They were brought under the ambit of the transparency Act which I’m sure is expected to open the floodgates of pointed RTI queries directed against these sports bodies, seeking information about their management, grants and administration. The judgment will have an impact in injecting an element of accountability not just in IOA and OC, but in all the sports federations. Meanwhile, our Sports Minister MS G...

Thanks to the reports and TV visuals of the alleged molestation of an air-hostess by Okolie Odafe and two other footballers, there is a buzz around Indian football. From Tuesday (Jan 5) till Wed (Jan 6), TV channels and newspapers have indulged themselves in scooping gossipy stories around Churchill Brothers' three footballers who were arrested at Mumbai airport on their way to Kolkata for the I-League match. Nobody knows the truth. Odafe says he is innocent and was seen requesting the TV anchor to get his camera from Goa which the Nigerian claims has visuals of the entire incident. But first and foremost, was there any need to highlight the entire incident? Are these footballers did what former Haryana DIG SP Rathore did years ago? Are we not exaggerating the entire episode? The truth is not yet out. So why put these footballers on the gallows. Particularly, Arindam Bhattacharya who seems to be so promising. I'm sure it would have an adverse effect on his career. Last month in...