Why the IOC likes India's shooting federation

When Raninder Singh, the president of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), first received a letter from the International Olympic Committee in November last year stating that if IOA elections went ahead, the IOA risked being suspended, he immediately withdrew his nomination for vice-president. “Nobody from the NRAI took part in the [IOA] election,” Singh told Firstpost. That decision is one of the reasons the NRAI is able to send an Indian team to the ISSF Shot Gun World Championships next month. Another is the recent letter they sent out to state rifle associations informing them that any official associated with recent IOA elections cannot continue in the rifle association in light of the IOA’s suspension i.e. any individual who is on that list who has anything to do with the shooting community at state level or in the NRAI itself. [caption id=“attachment_624533” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] “We have given them [the states] 15 days to take action. If they don’t, then our body will take a decision in the correct forum at the appropriate time,” Raninder said. Among those individuals are Anurag Thakur, the president of the Himachal Pradesh Rifle Association, and a vice-president of the suspended IOA. He is also the joint-secretary of the BCCI and a BJP MP. According to Raninder, the ISSF has written to the NRAI three times on the IOA issue but are satisfied that the rifle association has complied with all the necessary requirements to continue participating in international events. “I have been assured that we are not in violation of anything,” Raninder said. “Our national flag will fly. Indian shooters will compete in ISSF events under the national flag, where teams are sent by the NRAI directly.” Under Raninder’s leadership – he took over in December 2010 – the NRAI has held 28 coaching camps over the last two years and claimed 51 team and individual medals in international competitions over the same time span. The association has also shown a profit and has increased its reserve fund by 35% to Rs 4.14 crore since 2009, according to a release from the association. However, the NRAI cannot send a team to any Olympic events as long as the IOA remains suspended. The IOA ran afoul of the IOC because it held its election under the sports code, which it was required to do by the Delhi High Court, but had not adopted the code into its constitution. The NRAI has avoided that conflict by doing just that when the code came out in 2011. By voluntarily adopting the age and tenure requirements laid down by government the association avoided any conflict with IOC rules that require federations to be free of government interference. Asked when the NRAI had done so but other federations, and the IOA, had yet to follow suit, pat came the reply: “Not everybody is Raninder Singh who does not give a damn whether he is president or not. “As far as I am concerned, we are loyal to the IOC charter, we are loyal to the ISSF, Raninder said. “We are also loyal to the country we live in. We have voluntarily accepted the most contentious issue of the sports code.” While saying that the NRAI did not the think the sports code to be particularly onerous – “new blood is not a bad thing” – Raninder did interject a word of caution on the issue. Most international sports federations do not have age or tenure restrictions e.g. the current president of the ISSF, Olegario Vázquez Raña, is 77 years old. And Raninder said the previous secretary-general of the international federation was 92 when he died still holding office. “International federations only consider people who are senior enough to come and represent their countries or their federations in the international fora after a period of 20 or 25 years. Some form of accommodation has to be there to allow that.” Raninder pointed out that one reason Indian boxer Vikas Yadav had his chance at an Olympic medal taken away was because there was no one from the Indian side sitting on the committee that overturned Yadav’s win against Errol Spence. Someone, he said, had to be there to fight for the player’s interests because a lack of representation at that level can affect the result in the ring or on the field. The problem is at that level, you have to have been part of the Olympic family movement for a sufficient amount of time in order to have even a chance of being elected. That means finding a balance between what the Government has advised in its sports code and the requirements of international sports administration. “If you have a president who has been there for two years or a secretary-general who has been there for five years, they don’t even consider us to be bachas [children]. We have to confirm to the international communities views. We are not the island who lives on our own.” Raninder said the only way for the IOA to be reinstated was for those who took part in the unofficial elections to realise that they cannot get away with “cocking snooks” at the IOC. “One thing we have to understand, this is not an election in some rowdy part of rustic India, where you can do this and that. You are dealing with an international body which is a custodian of the Olympic Charter and from which you derive your strength.” The solution, then, was for both sides to sit down with open mind in a congenial atmosphere and for “statesmanship” to be shown on the Indian side. “People will have to say that the athlete’s interests in being able to compete in international forum are higher than my chair. The IOC must feel you are going to deliver. At the same times, the aspirations and ideas of the Indian side must be given a fair hearing. Then you will find some resolution.” Raninder pointed out the case of Kuwait as a warning for India. The Emir of Kuwait passed a sports ordinance that led to the IOC suspending the country for eight years. Eventually, the government had to back down and withdraw the ordinance before it was allowed back in the Olympic fold. Still, Raninder said the blame should entirely be laid at IOA’s feet. If each individual federation had adopted the code, then the IOA, which is made up of the federations, would affectively be run under the code too. “To pin the blame entirely on the IOA is also a little unfair because then it takes away the responsibility of the constituent assembly of the IOA,” he said.