2 teenagers allege malpractice in selecting swimmers

Two teenagers from the city have moved the Bombay High Court alleging severe malpractices in the selection process for the Indian team for Synchronised Swimming in the Commonwealth Games (CWG).

Two teenagers from the city have moved the Bombay High Court alleging severe malpractices in the selection process for the Indian team for Synchronised Swimming in the Common Wealth Games (CWG).

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Senior lawyer Janak Dwarkadas representing one of the petitioners, Anushka Merchant, informed the high court that an eight-member core group was formed for selecting players for the games to be held in New Delhi from October 3.

The 2010 CWG Synchronised Swimming programme will feature both solo and duet components for women, for which competitors were to be selected from this group.

“A Japanese trainer was appointed by the Swimming Federation of India for training the eight-member group,” said the counsel. “However, on April 24 she returned as her visa expired,” he added.

Dwarkadas said the trainer had given the group swimmers a practice schedule. While it was not clear why the trainer did not come back, some core group swimmers found that three of them were being trained in the US.

After the three swimmers returned, all eight were called for selection trial in Rajasthan last week. “There also the petitioners found a lone judge instead of a panel as declared by the federation,” said Dwarkadas.

“He judged the performance of the three swimmers who had gone to the US and walked out saying the rest of the swimmers could perform in his absence.”

Dwarkadas urged the court to hear the matter expeditiously as September 3 is the deadline for the swimming federation to submit the list of selected swimmers to the Organising Committee of the 2010 CWG.