Mary Kom, Sushil in conflict of interest

New Delhi, The appointment of Mary Kom, Sushil Kumar and Akhil Kumar as national observers to oversee India’s preparations for the future Olympic Games has raised questions about possible conflict of interest.
The three celebrated sportspersons are among 12 Olympians who have been tasked by the government to monitor the selection procedure, oversee the conduct of national camps and regularly provide a comprehensive feedback of the performance of the national campers in their respective disciplines.
The national observers will also assist the Sports Ministry, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and their respective National Sports Federation (NSF) in implementing the long-term development plans for the Olympic Games.
However, Mary Kom, Sushil and Akhil haven’t retired as active sportspersons and are still preparing for international tournaments with an eye on the Tokyo Games. Mary Kom has been training at the Indira Gandhi Indoor stadium for the upcoming World Championships and is part of the national camp. Sushil and Akhil, too, are continuing with their training to appear for the trials for next year’s Commonwealth and Asian Games.
According to a Ministry official, some of the boxers and wrestlers who are part of the national camps have apprised Sports Minister Vijay Goel about the conflict of interest.
“Prima facie, it looks like conflict of interest and the Minister has been made aware of it. While Sushil and Akhil are no longer part of the national camps, Mary Kom’s appointment hasn’t gone down well with her fellow boxers. They fear her presence could lead to favouritism. Moreover, some women boxers aren’t comfortable with the idea of her overseeing the conduct of the national camp,” the official added.
Apart from the trio, Abhinav Bindra (shooting), Karnam Malleswari (weightlifting), PT Usha and Anju Bobby George (athletics), Aparna Popat (badminton), Jagbir Singh (hockey), Somdev Devvarman (tennis), IM Vijayan (football), Khajan Singh (swimming), Sanjeev Kumar (archery) and Kamlesh Mehta (table tennis) have been appointed as national observers. The observers will be drawing a monthly salary of Rs 75,000.