Can controversy ever be far behind on the subject of Indian sports activities? In 2022, a yr which was marked a historic Commonwealth Games marketing campaign and a number of other uncommon feats in a number of World Championships, there have been additionally rampant administrative points, on-field controversies and a few downright unusual incidents.

Here’s a rewind of the yr’s 22 most notable controversies:

Cycling coach fired for harassment

The nationwide biking group was referred to as again from a coaching camp in Slovenia after a female cyclist levelled charges of sexual harassment towards the chief nationwide coach. The coach was dismissed after SAI discovered him responsible.

Gymnast recordsdata fees towards coach

Gymnast Aruna Budda Reddy additionally complained towards her coach. She stated that coach Rohit Jaiswal had videographed her with out her consent throughout trials held in March. The coach was faraway from India’s CWG contingent on the final second.

Birendra Lakra caught up in homicide case

Birendra Lakra was within the information final yr as being a part of the Indian hockey group which broke India’s medal drought on the Olympics. This yr, he was within the information for his alleged involvement within the homicide of his childhood buddy. Investigation within the case is ongoing.

Lakshya Sen caught up in age fraud case

Though hardly as critical as homicide, the nation’s prime shuttler Lakshya Sen turned embroiled in an age fraud case. An FIR was lodged towards the shuttler. Currently, the Karnataka HC has handed an interim order staying legal proceedings towards him.

Doping bans in Athletics

At least three high-profile athletes had been discovered responsible of doping. Discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur was given a four-year ban. Emerging monitor star Dhanalakshmi Sekar’s profession was additionally stopped in its tracks for a similar cause. Triple jumper Aishwarya Babu was one other huge title suspended.

Doping (whereabouts) ban on Dipa Karmakar

While there was relative readability on the bans imposed on the athletes, there was an odd episode involving India’s pathbreaker in gymnastics, Dipa Karmakar.

While most authorities – the world gymnastics physique, the Indian federation and the athlete herself – haven’t offered any readability, the Tripura athlete is currently serving a two-year ban for failing to tell the authorities about her location always. The final time Karmakar competed in a world meet was three years in the past. The relevance of this ban, subsequently, is extremely ambiguous.

Wrestler ban

While there was appreciable ambiguity in Karmakar’s case, there was nothing ambiguous in regards to the lifetime ban slapped on wrestler Satender Mallik by the Wrestling Federation of India. Participating within the trials for the Commonwealth Games, the heavyweight wrestler misplaced his cool after a choice went towards him and slapped the referee.

Covid bubble breached in AFC Cup

One of essentially the most anticipated occasions being held in India was the Women’s AFC Asian Cup. However, the match got here to a screeching halt for the Indian group. They had been ousted after only one match, following a COVID-19 outbreak within the squad. Little did we all know then that this, nevertheless disappointing, was hardly going to be the final soccer controversy of the yr.

Lovlina Borgohain, Bajrang Punia complain about lack of workers

The CWG marketing campaign turned out to be a historic one, but it surely began off with a number of unsuitable notes. Boxer Lovlina Borgohain alleged “mental harassment” after her coach Sandhya Gurung was given a unique accreditation and never allowed contained in the Games village. Wrestler Bajrang Punia too, whereas not in as robust phrases, stated that he was not being allowed a physio.

Rude behaviour by official in Games Village

A supervisor hooked up with the Indian weightlifting group was referred to as out for his ‘impolite behaviour’ by the CWG organising committee, which requested the chef-de-mission’s workplace to instruct the nation’s contingent “to be respectful and courteous at all times to our workforce” on the CWG. It was reported that the official in query had behaved rudely with a driver of a car which was delegated to move the Indian contingent.

India protests towards hockey timer

Nothing introduced the entire of India collectively on the CWG fairly like complaints over the penalty shootout defeat which knocked the ladies’s hockey group out.

The Australian ladies’s hockey group was requested to retake a penalty shoot-out within the semifinal as a result of the officers claimed that the timer was not working. The FIH was pressured to difficulty an apology after India misplaced the shootout 0-3. “Such biasedness used to happen in cricket as well earlier till we became a superpower, Hockey mein bhi hum jald banenge,” stated Virender Sehwag.

Sreeshankar misses out on gold by inches

Murali Sreeshankar received a historic silver in lengthy leap on the CWG, however he missed the gold medal by inches. Or, as some thought, by an optical phantasm. One of Sreeshankar’s jumps which was referred to as as foul regarded on replays as if it had been a authorized leap.

Tejaswin vs AFI

High jumper Tejaswin Shankar was additionally concerned in an argument on the CWG, although there was nothing to be faulted along with his on-field efficiency. Just earlier than the occasion although, Tejaswin was pressured to take the Athletics Federation of India to court docket after he was left out of the squad regardless of reaching the qualification commonplace. The court docket slammed AFI over its choice coverage and Tejaswin was later named within the squad. He went on to win bronze.

TT choice

Table Tennis additionally noticed a variety controversy. Several TT gamers complained to the court docket alleged discrepancies within the choice technique of the 2022 Commonwealth Games group. While most of them had been turned down, one rising participant – Diya Chitale – was included within the group after the attraction.

Coach’s conspicuous absence at CWG

The precise TT marketing campaign was additionally eventful, particularly for the ladies’s group. The ladies’s coach Anindita Chakraborty was conspicuous by her absence whereas males’s coach S Raman appeared to fill in for her. While it was unclear who had an issue with whom inside the group, the ladies’s group suffered an upset within the quarterfinals. “The atmosphere in the team is the not best, let’s just say that,” PTI quoted a supply from inside the TT group.

TTFI EC suspended

The issues inside TT had been mirrored by the executive issues inside the sport. The Delhi High Court suspended TTFI’s government committee and appointed a CoA to take cost.

Hockey federation positioned below CoA

India’s hockey federation too was positioned below a CoA by the Delhi High Court after being present in violation of the nationwide sports activities code. Narinder Batra was additionally eliminated because the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) president as a consequence and in addition to FIH president.

The FIH, compounding India’s worries, shot a letter to HI demanding that elections be held instantly, failing which the 2023 World Cup internet hosting rights could be taken away.

AIFF President eliminated

If hockey was dealing with some administrative hassle, soccer was having a good more durable time. The SC eliminated Praful Patel as president of the AIFF. His time period had already led to 2020.

FIFA ban

In the center of all this administrative rigmarole, FIFA suspended the AIFF. A CoA was shortly fashioned to take cost of the AIFF, which too was disbanded within the matter of some days. Fresh elections had been held quickly after, and former footballer Kalyan Chaubey took over as AIFF president. The suspension was later revoked.

U17 ladies’s group coach suspended for alleged sexual abuse

Alex Ambrose, assistant coach of the Indian ladies’s U-17 soccer group, was suspended and despatched again from a coaching camp in Norway after he was discovered to have allegedly abused a minor participant.

IOA president

While particular person sports activities federations had a nasty yr in 2022, the IOA itself had numerous churn. The Delhi HC handed over the functioning of the IOA to a CoA, which order the SC stayed.

Adile Sumariwala, president of the AFI and vp of the IOA, claimed he had been appointed because the IOA head. General secretary Rajeev Mehta got here out contesting this declare. Finally, it was PT Usha who was elected because the president.

Deepti’s run out causes uproar in England

Deepti Sharma triggered an uproar within the worldwide cricket group as she ran out the non-striker to provide India a 3-0 sequence victory towards England. While the on-field gamers appeared to not make a lot of this, the surface world dissected the incident from all quarters, and the largest speaking level on the planet of cricket for the following few days remained whether or not it was an ethical act to expire the non-striker.