38th National Games: Taekwondo director replaced over allegations of ‘misconduct’

DEHRADUN: The Games Technical Conduct Committee (GTCC) of the 38th National Games Uttarakhand has named S Dinesh Kumar as Taekwondo’s director of competition, replacing T Praveen Kumar, after strong recommendations by a three-member Prevention of Manipulation of Competition (PMC) Committee, according to a press release from Indian Olympic Association.

GTCC chairperson Sunaina Kumari said her colleagues and she had decided to accept the recommendations of the three-man PMC panel.

“It is important that we take on board the recommendations of the PMC Committee and protect the integrity of the 38th National Games Uttarakhand. Besides receiving complaints against the erstwhile Director of Competition, we are also shocked to discover that he had named office-bearers and executive committee members of some State Associations as well as someone who was an equipment vendor for the selection trials as Sports Specific Volunteers”, she said.

GTCC (Games Technical Conduct Committee) and IOA step in to prevent manipulation of competition in Taekwondo: IOA

Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha says, “It is shocking and said that National Games medals were allegedly decided away from the field of play even… pic.twitter.com/5gp8s2TMwg

— ANI (@ANI) February 3, 2025

Backing the GTCC decision to replace the Director of Competition and change some technical officials, Indian Olympic Association president P T Usha said it is important for all stakeholders to uphold the spirit of sport and give all competitors a fair chance to showcase their talent on the biggest stage in the country.

“It is shocking and said that National Games medals were allegedly decided away from the field of play even before the start of competitions. At the Indian Olympic Association, we are committed to being fair to all our athletes and protect them from people conniving to manipulate the competition and tarnish the image of the National Games”, Usha said as quoted by the release.

Acting on complaints, the PMC Committee made four recommendations to prevent disputes that could impact the conduct of the National Games because of unethical practices. The PMC Committee included R K Sudanshu, IAS, Principal Secretary, Government of Uttarakhand, B K Sinha, IPS (retd) and Dushyant Sharma, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu and Kashmir.

Its first recommendation was for IOA to change the Director of Competition with a suitable candidate in consultation with the Games Technical Conduct Committee. Further, it suggested to the IOA President that at least 50 per cent of the nominated Technical Officials be replaced with duly qualified officials with international or national certification.

The PMC committee also recommended that the entire competition be recorded on video and the footage preserved for reference should the need arise. Finally, the panel said that a team of officials nominated by the GTCC should be present at the venue throughout the competition to reduce the scope of manipulation and give all athletes a fair chance at winning medals.

The PMC panel had considered complaints that some officials appointed by the Taekwondo Federation of India had already fixed the outcome of matches in 10 of the 16 weight categories long before the competition was due to start. “The asking price is Rs 3 lakh for gold medal, Rs 2 lakh for silver and Rs 1 lakh for bronze”, the IOA was informed, as stated by the release.

As many as 16 Kyorugi and 10 Poomsae competitions in Taekwondo will be held at the Milam Hall in the Sports Complex in Haldwani from February 4 to 8. (ANI)