Bodybuilding or body-breaking?

The large-scale infighting that led to the imposing of a three-year ban on Indian Body-Building Federation president Madhav Pujari by the As...

The large-scale infighting that led to the imposing of a three-year ban on Indian Body-Building Federation president Madhav Pujari by the Asian federation is nothing new to the sport in India. In its 40-year history, the IBBF has had several instances of faction feuds among its top officials.

Flashes of brilliance from the likes of Premchand Dogra, who won the Mr Universe title in 1988, proved to be little more than an interlude to bouts of mudslinging and fiercely-fought legal battles for gaining power in the federation.

Much before Dogra8217;s feats led to a resurgence in the sport, India twice hit the world peak when Monotosh Roy and Manohar Aich won the Mr Universe titles in 1951 and 1952.

That should have been enough to inspire the sport8217;s elevation to a better-run level, but the bosses who formed the national body in August 1963 remained entangled in power struggles and remained immersed in their politics, to the dismay of athletes.

The power struggle reached a height in the 1980s, forcing the Union Government8217;s Department of Youth Affairs and Sport to derecognise the IBBF in August 1985. The recognition was restored two years later after the federation promised the Union Government it would set its house in order. It is possible the latest episode, involving Pujari and IBBF general secretary Suresh Kadam, might draw government ire once again. Pujari has been served a three-year ban by the game8217;s Asian governing body, while Kadam has been expelled by IBBF 8212; though he still claims to hold office. Pujari has trained his guns on his former lieutenant Kadam by filing a criminal case against him for misapropriating IBBF funds after the Mr Universe event in Mumbai last November. The city8217;s Malabar Hill police are investigating the matter.

It isn8217;t just the infighting; the sport in India has even seen senior officials forming a breakaway federation. The parallel national association, which bears the same name as that of Pujari8217;s and is registered in Kolkata, says it will work for the cause of athletes.

It8217;s being run by two big names in bodybuliding 8212; Mumbai8217;s Madhukar Talwalkar president and Kolkata8217;s Romaprasad Mukherjee secretary. Talwalkar kept himself away from the sport for over a decade but then threw in his hat last year. His group accuses the Pujari-Kadam duo of changing the registration deeds of the original body, a charge Pujari refutes.

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8216;8216;Don8217;t be surprised if Pujari and Kadam are soon thrown out of the federation,8217;8217; said Vicky Goraksh, a senior member of Talwalkar8217;s federation. 8216;8216;They have ruined the careers of lot of innocent bodybuilders. They will pay for their follies.8217;8217; The Talwalkar faction has even started to hold Mr India contests from last year. The next will be held in Mumbai, says Goraksh. 8216;8216;Some of the promising bodybuilders who are with us were not allowed to take part in the Mr Universe contest for no fault of theirs,8217;8217; he charges.

Pujari claims he8217;s spotless. 8216;8216;I blame everything on Kadam. He8217;s a real culprit.8217;8217; And Kadam, who once worked at a clerk at the IBBF office in Mumbai, was unavailable for comment.