This Sports Minister won't tolerate misgovernance

Rathore issued a stern warning to National Sports Federations

‘There would be massive amount of transparency in terms of team selection, results’

‘The ministry is working on a coaching programme. Our coaches need to upgrade their knowledge from time to time’

Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, on Tuesday, issues a stern warning to National Sports Federations (NSFs), saying there would be zero tolerance for misgovernance.

Rathore said there cannot be any alternative to the core principles of governance in sports. "65 per cent of India's population is below 35. It is our Prime Minister's vision (Khelo India Initiative) to promote sporting culture in the country. So there would be zero tolerance in terms of misgovernance in sports," Rathore said in his address while inaugurating the 'National Workshop on Sports for All' in New Delhi.

"The federations will have to think beyond their turfs. There would be massive amount of transparency in terms of team selection, results. Everything has to be open and sharing," he added.

Rathore, 47, who won a double trap silver medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics, said from now on the ministry will only take policy decisions on sports, the execution of which will be left to professionals.

"Ministry will make policies and the operational responsibility will lie with professionals," he said.

"We are in the process of CEOs to look after all the programmes," the Sports Minister said.

"We are creating an IT-based structure where Khelo India programme and TOPS will be monitored 24x7 and 365 days. The performances of High Performance Managers and coaches will also be monitored."

Rathore, who is the first athlete to become the Sports Minister, further said the entire sporting system of the country needs a complete overhaul.

"We need to change our thought process. We need to build more playing arenas at low cost. In India when someone decides to build any stadium he thinks of an Olympic like stadium," he said.

"The ministry is working on a coaching programme. Our coaches need to upgrade their knowledge from time to time. From now on, we will be assessing the coaches every year."