Gill meets IWF chief

Peeved by weightlifter Kavita Devi’s positive test before the Asian Championships in Japan, Sports Minister MS Gill today met the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) chief Harbhajan Singh, and told his federation to mend their ways. The minister, who had summoned the IWF chief to Shastri Bhavan to discuss the episode, also said it was the federation’s job to clean up the system.

“India need young talented sportspersons with clear records and Indian sports must also have a clean record. There will be no compromise on that,” he said. Gill said that he would come back to the office-bearers of the IWF to review the progress after two months. During his meeting with Singh, the minister also reiterated the need to furnish a regular statement of accounts by federations. The IWF chief assured the minister that all audited accounts will be furnished to the Sports Ministry in the shortest time possible.

As for funding any projects to uplift sport in the country, Gill assured the ministry will not flinch even a bit. “What we want the federations to do is to keep clean accounts and periodically submit audited accounts. Funding or promoting a particular discipline will not be a problem, provided the federations follow the ministry’s dictum.”