AITA News .....

[arjun2761]

Not sure where to put this..

Indian tennis players affected by Covid, some on verge of making career switch
https://www.newindianexpress.com/sport/ ... 63453.html

This makes complete sense rationally. If you are over 25-26 and outside the top 400 (i.e., never cracked top 400), the chances of making a viable living while playing tennis is pretty low. So, academics is a far more viable option at that stage as they are still not too old to start an academic/business/government career. The other option is to keep plugging away and then transition to a tennis coaching career. I'm not sure what the coaching career options are in India. In the US, it is a viable option but is pretty low paying from what I can see.

[prasen9]

The other other option is to keep plugging away to the extent possible and then taking some courses to complete their academics and getting on with life. While India has some academic options close based on age and some places it is harder to come back and do things, at others, especially, if you say you took time off for tennis, there are options to get degrees, etc. So, academics will always be there. It is a case of how long can one slog away with a lot of travel, no money, pinching pennies, making things work. How much one can tolerate will vary from person to person.

[jayakris]

We had a lot of discussion on AITA vs Sumit in the Davis Cup and Sumit threads in the last 2 weeks... Time to continue in this thread, as this matter between players and AITA just got serious!

Tennis stars Somdev Devvarman drags AITA to court over alleged Sports Code violations (Indian Express)

Somdev and Purav have filed the lawsuit, and the sports ministry is also accused as party, for turning a blind eye to the AITA violations.

It was high time that somebody caught the bull by the horn!

[Atithee]

Good luck. What code violation? I think almost every sports association in India is probably doing the same thing. Let’s see where this lands. As I mentioned in Sumit’s thread, it’s best for Somdev etc. to be the spokesperson to air the grievances. Sumit gains nothing. Finally, seems like they heard me. Anyway, AITA isn’t the problem and I am still sticking to my stance.

[Rajiv]

And the Delhi HC rejects Somdev & Purav's petition.

https://www.insidesport.in/chak-de-indi ... inst-aita/

[Atithee]

Of course! There is no such code that was the basis of their petition.

[VReddy]

[Atithee]

I still have no idea what sports code is being cited. Anyone knows the actual code not morality of it?

[jayakris]

And the Delhi HC rejects Somdev & Purav's petition.
https://www.insidesport.in/chak-de-indi ... inst-aita/

Well, it was not a rejection, actually. The HC did not stay the election but has stopped AITA from announcing the results. From what I understand, the HC may throw the whole thing away if they see that there are violations after the hearings.

[jayakris]

I still have no idea what sports code is being cited. Anyone knows the actual code not morality of it?

I believe this is the 2011 National Sports Code from the Sports Ministry site - https://yas.nic.in/sites/default/files/ ... ressed.pdf

There is a 2017 draft code with changes (but I am not sure if it was adopted) - https://yas.nic.in/sites/default/files/ ... Sports.pdf

EDIT: Hold on... I think there is one from late 2023, that is supposed to be in effect from this year. Need to find the PDF

EDIT2: Well, maybe not... This Sportstar article (Jan 2024) asks for the 2017 draft sports code to be adopted right away, so it seems the 2011 may still be the one in effect. But the 2017 one is the code the federations are asked to adopt now.

EDIT3: More on it... As of March 2024, this Times of India article says that only 11 of 58 sports bodies have adopted it as stipulated by the the ministry in Dec 2023 (extended by 2 months later)... Interesting... Also an Indian Express article from this March, with some confusing details and complications that prevent sports federations from adopting the code.

[jayakris]

‘The system should enable dreams, not crush them,’ Somdev Devvarman on AITA’s alleged violation of sports code - Sportstar, Sep 24, 2024

Somdev stated, “The conduct of the federation is in direct conflict with the law of the land: it does not follow the sports code, it flouts the judgements of courts and its administrators choose to ignore the most basic guidelines for sports governance while fighting over the spoils that the players have achieved.”

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav while declining to stay the election at this stage ordered that the result of the polls, which are scheduled to be held on September 28, shall not be made public till further order of the court ... The court further cautioned that if the election is subsequently found to be in violation of the Sports Code, it will not allow the elected office bearers to function and that an independent entity could be appointed in their place.

So the courts actually ave taken it seriously. If the judge mentioned even the possibility of an independent entity, that means this is no simple thing.

Much gratitude to Somdev for leading the charge!!

[jayakris]

Of course! There is no such code that was the basis of their petition.

The code is of course there. But I have no idea how legally binding it is, for the High Court to nullify the AITA elections later. It may not be enough, is my quick gut reaction. Worth a shot, anyway.

It is only a matter of time before the federations raise the "Olympic charter" bull-crap, and governmental interference into their functioning, to give the excuse that they cannot be forced to follow a sports code. Come to think of it, that may be why the lawyers helping Somdev added the government as party to the violations!

[Atithee]

The code is of course there. But I have no idea how legally binding it is, for the High Court to nullify the AITA elections later. It may not be enough, is my quick gut reaction.

That’s my entire point. Maybe the government will again appoint Salve and screw it up.

[jayakris]

Well, it seems like all is not well there... I thought it was adwAITA, but it seems there is dwAITA there. A big split.

State Associations Propose No Confidence Motion Against AITA President Jain (News18)

Jain, who is a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, is facing the charges of “loading the association with his personal ‘entitled’ expenses by travelling with his family abroad several times.” The state units that proposed the no-confidence motion are: Assam, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Tripura.

Basically, most states that matter in tennis, except WB, Karnataka and Telangana are in the group.

[Rajiv]

The ongoing wrangling takes another turn as the 8 associations withdraw their no confidence petition against Anil Jain.