India warned to clean up its act or face further ban

International Olympic Committee (IOC) has told India that it must bar all corruptiontainted officials from its local Olympic body if it wants to return to the Games after being banned last year, said an official on Friday.

The IOC has sent a 43-page draft constitution that needs to be adopted by the suspended Indian Olympic Association (IOA) before its next elections in September, an Indian Olympic official said.

“We have received the IOC draft and we will look into it,” said the official, who did not want to be named.

Local media reported that the draft, accompanied by a letter from the IOC’s head of institutional relations, Jerome Poivey, stressed the need to keep corrupt officials out of sports administration.

“To be eligible as an office-bearer or member of the IOA’s executive council, a member must . . . not face charges framed against him/her by any court in India in respect of a criminal or corruption offence,” the Press Trust of India said, quoting from the draft.

India’s IOC membership was suspended in December after Lalit Bhanot, who is facing charges of corruption linked to the scandal-hit New Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010, was elected IOA secretarygeneral.

Former IOA boss Suresh Kalmadi, who has also been charged in the Commonwealth Games scandal, did not contest the elections in December, when his protégé, Abhay Chautala, was elected president.

Both Kalmadi, a lawmaker of the ruling Congress party, and Bhanot have denied any wrongdoing.

Suspension from the IOC means India does not receive funding from the world body and its officials cannot attend Olympic events. In addition, its athletes will be barred from competing in the Olympics under the national flag.

The Delhi Commonwealth Games were intended to showcase India on the global stage, but were marred by infrastructure problems, delays and widespread corruption allegations.

They also led to criticism of the stranglehold of politicians over Indian sports associations.— Sapa-AFP