NEW DELHI: I was thrilled to read that, how Likith the Bangalore Swimmer raised his voice against the cartel in the swimming and that too at international platform. I could not stop or refrain myself from further adding to his ordeal because the platform at which, he raised his voice was an Olympic Qualifier!
I totally agree to and subscribe to his words that yes you will seldom find any swimmer or his ward ever raising his or her voice against this cartel! To be honest I will say that I myself did not have enough courage to shout it out loud against this when it happened to me and was happening with others!
Likith’s outcry that busted the cartel, reminded me of my days when I was in competitive swimming. I have seen how this cartel operates and how they threaten you to not take this matter further. In my case I have seen how Madhya Pradesh Swimming Association was cheating athletes! In usual practice the cartel makes their own loyal people officials who will never dare to cross their words, immaterial of their age and physical bodily qualification for a particular job as an official! When I say, physical bodily qualification, I mean that, for example, a finish judge must be a person who has perfect eyesight because he or she has to see from a distance who touched first! Now, what this cartel does is that, on finish judge, they will place aged people with weak eyesight who are of course their loyal or part of the cartel! This is so because the Finish judge is a key position. A finish judge’s verdict is final for a position rather than the timekeeper’s result! The timekeeper’s result is looked upon only when there is contradiction amongst the finished judge’s report!
The cartel directs these finish judges who is to be placed on which position! Thus, despite the timekeepers’ report, the finish judge overrules it. The beauty of the system is that the argument given in favor of the finish judge is that, he or she knows who touched first unlike the timekeeper whose duty is to take the time of only one person and not allowed to poke nose in others position and time given. So, the finish judge will call upon the timekeeper to change the timeas per the direction of the finish judge.
This is one of the methodology that was evolved over the years but after the hue and cry of parents report was submitted with the jury. Now, this cartel needed a superior method that could not be challenged easily. Initially, the timekeeper was instructed to change time on the block itself, this modus operandi was followed for years. This immunity is available to this cartel especially in the countries like India where an electronic time system is rarely used. I still remember of Mr. Sitaram Sahoo of the sports department a senior official who introduced the electronic time system for the first time during the School Nationals of SGFI at Delhi. There was a written complaint submitted by the cartel from Delhi Swimming against the allotment of games officiating responsibility being given to Mr. Sahoo. This was so because the cartel was helpless as they would not be able to favor their candidates and earn. The meet was video recorded as well and technology was used extensively to make it a fair game and to provide a fair level field to the participants.
The most surprising and shock to me and many other swimming lovers is that this cheating has taken place even at the elite level of swimming championships! The one conducted by the FINA the top body for swimming monitoring! Although it is appreciable that in no time after the investigations taken by FINA at their end, invalidated the tournament held at Uzbekistan as Olympic qualifier.
This shall be the reason why FINA over the period of time has gradually done away with the traditional system of timekeeping at the tournament conducted by them. After this shocking incidence, now a bigger question is that “How FINA is going to curb such National Federations which breeds such Cartels to kill sportsmen spirit and ensure fair tournament to the athletes under the FINA rules, in a situation when FINA is giving thousand dollars around to conduct the tournament in a country as an Amnesty to the National Federation(s) of developing countries?”
The Writer is a licence B holder, DSV Germany Swimming Federation.