IOA: The Pakistan Conundrum

While not quite a setback, the stern warning issued on various fronts by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) to the IOA (Indian Olympic Association), if it wishes to host the 2036 Olympics in Ahmedabad, has come as a wake-up call.

The most significant from the government’s point of view is the IOC’s firm statement that no country or individual can be barred from competing in multinational sporting events on Indian soil by denial of visas, as this would amount to a violation of the Olympic Charter.

This has caused a major rethink on the part of the government, which had announced a ban on visas to Pakistanis. In the recent past, it had barred teams and individuals from both Pakistan and the breakaway region of Kosovo—which the Indian government does not recognise—from participation in India. The unofficial ban first came into force after the horrific terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 2008, followed by the attack on the army convoy in Pulwama in 2019 and then the recent one on civilians in Pahalgam, Kashmir, which triggered the brief skirmish between India and Pakistan last month. India has produced concrete evidence that all these attacks were conceived and plotted in Pakistan, a charge Pakistan denies.

However, with the IOA’s hopes of hosting the Olympics in eight years’ time, strongly backed by the government, the IOC has made it clear any refusal to host Pakistani sportspersons will result in severe sanctions and put the hosting bid in jeopardy. It should be noted that the IOC has, in the past, come down heavily on Islamic nations that refused visas to Israel for international sporting events.

The immediate fallout is the assurance from the government that Pakistan will be allowed to compete in both the Asia Cup hockey in Rajbir, Bihar, and the FIH Junior World Cup hockey in Chennai and Madurai later this year. While multinational sporting events, several of which are to be held in India this year, will not be disrupted, all bilateral sporting ties remain in deep freeze.

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Regarding cricket, it has been agreed by all parties that tournaments involving India and Pakistan will be played on a hybrid basis, with matches between the two nations held at neutral venues.

The IOC has also severely censured the IOA for the massive rise in doping cases, with India having the highest positivity rate for banned substances among major sporting nations. It is high time a law was brought in, criminalising such acts with stringent action initiated against coaches who are the main culprits.

Finally, the mess in administrative matters, with IOA officials pitted against each other, has also to be sorted out post-haste. Only then can India’s dream of becoming only the fourth Asian nation to host the Summer Olympics (after Japan twice, South Korea and China) become a reality.