Life has its own way of telling you when it’s not all hunky-dory. Things may appear to be going fine and all of a sudden, there comes a reality check which shows that they are far from perfect.
For Indian sports, basking in the glory of Neeraj Chopra, HS Prannoy and the chess gang of R Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh, this wake-up call has come in an unexpected manner. Chirag Khandal, the Equestrian athlete, has shocked the sports fraternity by announcing his retirement at the age of 20.
He cited apathy on part of the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) and accused it of mistreatment. According to The Hindustan Times, Khandal said he was not picked for the Asian Games despite achieving the qualification mark. The daily quoted an EFI official as saying that retirement is a personal matter and there was no foul play.
Selection is always a tricky issue and that’s why in every sports, there are criteria an athlete must fulfil. Once they do that, there is no reason why he or she should not be selected, unless there is any fitness or disciplinary reason. Khandal actually got a Supreme Court verdict in his favour in May, wherein the EFI was directed to include him in the provisional squad for the Asian Games. He then made a startling allegation that the person he used to hire his horse from had given it to another Indian athlete. The EFI official brushed it off as something between the horse owner and the rider, in which the federation plays no role.
If this is the story in a nutshell, the bigger picture is unpleasant. At a time Indian athletes from different disciplines are making a mark at the top level, a part of the country’s sports establishment is still fighting meaningless ego battles. Had a more compassionate federation been in place, things would not have prompted a 20-year-old to call it a day. The matter should have ended before reaching this stage.
This is not to say that EFI is at fault and Khandal is a victim. It’s just that the federation could have reacted differently. Khandal may have ruffled feathers, but the EFI as a parent body should have been more proactive in sorting things out amicably. It’s the duty of a national sports federation to govern. This includes giving aggrieved athletes a patient hearing and if required, settling things within the four walls of a room.
While Khandal has claimed he has been treated with apathy, what actually seems to be missing in what the EFI has done is empathy. These are called parent bodies because it’s a part of their responsibilities to guide the athletes under their umbrella and show them the way. Young and impressionable, a big majority of the athletes are not finished products and need a bit of hand-holding rather than just admonishment.
What we see instead is a confrontational approach, sometimes from both sides. Nobody is willing to budge. This leads to court cases, other complications and bitterness. One, if not both sides, will have to be flexible. This applies to the athletes as well. They can’t be adamant that it’s either this way or that. Solutions are often found somewhere in the middle. Looking at the matter from a distance, the EFI versus Khandal showdown appears to be a fallout of this rigidity in mindset.
Temporarily, one side may feel vindicated and this may give it a sense of victory. But they must realise that if this leads to a 20-year-old killing his dreams, then there has to be a rethink. Nobody is a winner in this case. Khandal has lost his passion for the sport he loved and the EFI an ardent enthusiast, whose father sold off property to help his son become an accomplished equestrian athlete. It’s a lose-lose situation, at a time Indian youngsters are sowing new dreams.