It has been a dramatic couple of days for Arunachal’s sports community; one that signals the bleak reality and desperation behind the euphoria and headline grabbing rhetoric.
On Tuesday, September 7, in a rather shocking development, National gold medalist in archery, Sorang Yumi, who has also two International and 20 National medals to her name threatened to surrender her medals and certificates alleging irregularities in the selection of coaches by the state Department of Sports. The archer claimed that the incumbent Director of Sports indulged in nepotism and illegally and arbitrarily appointed his own kith & kin as archery coach.
On September 8, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested the General Secretary of Arunachal Taekwondo Association (ATA) for allegedly issuing fake certificates of international, national and regional Taekwondo events to candidates applying for various government jobs under sports quota.
These two separate incidents are proof of the malaise afflicting sports and why our dream of becoming a ‘sports powerhouse’ might be misplaced and laughable.
Sportspersons have always had it tough in our society which views sports as an unproductive pastime. Yours truly’ close friend was a promising footballer and was invited for the national camp back in the day but the school principal hid the invitation as he believed that my all-rounder friend would waste his life in the pursuit of football and must instead focus on studies. I digress; sportspersons in our country not only have to fight their opponents but also have to fight their reluctant families, a corrupt system, politics and poor sports infrastructure. With so much going against them, is it any wonder that a nation of one billion has only a handful of medalists.
 A deserving champion, Yumi Sorang was overlooked for the post of coach by someone who never participated in any national or international event. While impersonators may have landed government jobs all thanks to the ‘fake’ sports certificates issued by an official of a sporting body. All this is happening when our leaders are tom-toming about the sporting potential of Arunachal at every podium possible. Can it get more tragic than this?

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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