CHANDIGARH, AUG 5 : The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has recommended the name hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand for the coveted ‘Bharat Ratna Award’ for his outstanding achievements in the field of sports. This was stated by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports, Mr Jitendra Singh in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
BCCI UNDER SCANNER: In another written reply Mr Jitendra Singh has said that several controversies about Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding allotment of franchisees, match fixing, betting etc. were reported in various sections of print and electronic media.
He said, various agencies of the Government namely the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax and Service Tax Department have conducted inquiries into the allegations of irregularities involving the BCCI in the country.
SHORTAGE OF SPORTS INSTRUCTORS/COACHES : On shortage of coaches, Mr Singh said that the shortage of coaches in various disciplines has arisen mainly due to fact that there was no recruitment of coaches in Sports Authority of India (SAI) since 1993. He said, in order to cope with the shortage, coaches have been engaged on contract basis and as on date, 135 such coaches in different disciplines are working in SAI.
He said, in order to address the shortage of coaches in SAI, recruitment of regular coaches in phased manner has been planned and accordingly, initially, process for appointment of 200 coaches in the disciplines of archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, fencing, hockey, gymnastics, judo, kayaking & canoeing, rowing, shooting, swimming & diving, taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu has already been initiated. The coaches are being recruited keeping in view the requirement projected by various units of SAI. In response to advertisement for recruitment of coaches, 1697 applications have been received. The same have been scrutinized and have been sent to the identified Government Agency for selection through competitive examination / field test and interview.
The Minister said, there are two category of candidates i.e category 3(a) who are NIS diploma holders and category 3(b) who have participated in Asian Games / World Championship & have done Certificate Course. The written exam for category 3(b) candidates was held on 19.5.2013 and the written exam for category 3(a) candidates was held on 30.6.2013. Further, Olympians in the aforesaid disciplines who have applied & found eligible for the post of coach in SAI have been selected through interview and accordingly, 27 Olympians have been sent the offer of appointment. The whole process of selection should be completed by September, 2013.