New Delhi: Decorated wrestler Satish Kumar has been awarded Rs 25 lakh as compensation by a Delhi court here for being wrongly restrained from taking part in the 2002 Asian Games in South Korea under the mistaken impression that he had taken performance-enhancing drugs.
While directing the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to pay the compensation, the court made a scathing remark and said that the way sportspersons are treated by the federations led by non-sporting bosses ‘speaks volumes’ on why India is still struggling for medals in global competitions.
Kumar, employed with the CISF, had later brought laurels for the country including winning gold medals in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and the World Police Games in Los Angeles.
Besides holding the WFI culpable, additional district Judge Surinder S Rathi also directed the central government to conduct a probe against all officials involved for nearly spoiling Kumar’s career.
Kumar, a Punjab native, was selected by WFI for the 14th Asian Games at Busan in South Korea, but was wrongly stopped from boarding the flight with other athletes as he was confused with another wrestler of same name who hailed from West Bengal. The guilty wrestler was banned later for two years. However, Kumar’s chance for participation in the Asian Games by then had gone.
The court said the sports body had ‘defamed and caused immense trauma and humiliation’ to Kumar by not only ‘mindlessly deboarding’ him for no fault of his but also stuck to their ‘absurd and wrong stand that it was he who had tested positive’.
The court, in its 30-page judgement, said, “… the work culture at WFI is found to be grossly wanting in taking care of careers of budding wrestlers who toil hard for the nation and take pride in wearing the Indian flag.
“Sportspersons of the calibre of Kumar are already rare in India and the way they are treated by federations led by non-sporting bosses speaks volumes on why India is still struggling for medals in Olympics and Asiads. “It is clear that WFI messed up the whole issue.”
Kumar had moved court in October 2002 and in his petition had sought Rs 30 lakh in damages alleging that the ‘false implication did not only hurt his feelings but also feelings of his family and relatives and it lowered his moral and esteem in the eyes of acquaintances and well wishers’.
press trust of india
