Power Sportz makes recommendations to sports ministry; Rijiju acknowledges

 Power Sportz, India's maiden sports news channel, met with Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday evening at Shastri Bhawan. The team led by Kanthi D. Suresh, Founder and Editor-in-Chief Power Sportz, presented a memorandum suggesting some recommendations to the sports ministry. The Sports Minister acknowledged the Memorandum.

The memorandum suggested changes that Power Sportz believes should be incorporated in the framework currently governing the parameters to determine annual recognition to National Sports Federations (NSFs).

The documents required currently by the sports ministry to grant renewal of annual recognition to NSFs revolves around financial statements to calendar of events and certain other mandatory obligations. The athlete does not feature in the norms for renewal of annual recognition of NSF's.

It has been suggested by Power Sportz to add a parameter of athlete appraisal of their respective NSF as an important feature to evaluate the federation while grant of renewal of its annual recognition.

"We have engaged with close to 300 athletes and other stakeholders in the sporting environment and we realise that currently there is no institutional framework to record athlete perceptions of their National Sports Federations," said Kanthi D. Suresh, who heads the sports journalism division and anchors the flagship show of the channel, Talking Turkey.

"The most important stakeholder in the sporting environment is the athlete and to balance the equation between the athlete and the administrators, a well made appraisal system will go a long way in creating a more egalitarian sports environment in the country," feels Kanthi who was accompanied by her team for the meeting.

With National Sports Federations and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in a continuous quest to maintain their autonomy status, it remains to be seen if something like this can be implemented by the sports ministry.

The parameters for renewing the annual recognition to NSFs is part of the National Sports Code 2011, which is currently the governing framework for sports in India. The Sports Minister recently had rejected the idea of a new Sports Code.IANS