National Games 2025: Taekwondo director sacked after match-fixing allegations

According to the IOA, the director had put medals for sale, with gold medal set for Rs. 3 lakhs at the National Games 2025.

The Games Technical Conduct Committee (GTCC) of the National Games 2025 Uttarakhand has named S Dinesh Kumar as Taekwondo’s Director of Competition replacing T Praveen Kumar after strong recommendations by a three-member Prevention of Manipulation of Competition (PMC) Committee.

GTCC Chairperson Sunaina Kumari said her colleagues and she had decided to accept the recommendations of the three-man PMC panel. “It is important that we take on board the recommendations of the PMC Committee and protect the integrity of the 38th National Games Uttarakhand,” she said.

“Besides receiving complaints against the erstwhile Director of Competition, we are also shocked to discover that he had named office-bearers and executive committee members of some State Associations as well as someone who was an equipment vendor for the selection trials as Sports Specific Volunteers,” she said.

Backing the GTCC decision to replace the Director of Competition and change some technical officials, Indian Olympic Association President Dr. PT Usha said it is important for all stakeholders to uphold the spirit of sport and give all competitors a fair chance to showcase their talent on the biggest stage in the country.  

“It is shocking and sad that National Games medals were allegedly decided away from the field of play even before the start of competitions,” Dr. Usha said. “At the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), we are committed to being fair to all our athletes and protect them from people conniving to manipulate the competition and tarnish the image of the National Games.”

Acting on complaints, the PMC Committee made four recommendations to prevent disputes that could impact the conduct of the National Games because of unethical practices. The PMC Committee included Mr. RK Sudanshu, IAS, Principal Secretary, Government of Uttarakhand, Mr. BK Sinha, IPS (retd.) and Mr. Dushyant Sharma, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu and Kashmir.

Its first recommendation was for IOA to change the Director of Competition with a suitable candidate in consultation with the Games Technical Conduct Committee. Further, it suggested to the IOA President that at least 50 per cent of the nominated Technical Officials be replaced with duly qualified officials with international or national certification. 

Also Read: National Games 2025 Medal Tally

The PMC Committee also recommended that the entire competition be recorded on video and the footage preserved for reference should the need arise. Finally, the panel said that a team of officials nominated by the GTCC should be present at the venue throughout the competition to reduce the scope of manipulation and give all athletes a fair chance at winning medals.  

The PMC panel had considered complaints that some officials appointed by the Taekwondo Federation of India had already fixed the outcome of matches in 10 of the 16 weight categories long before the competition is due to start. “The asking price is Rs. 3 lakhs for gold medal, Rs.  2 lakhs for silver and Rs. 1 lakh for Bronze,” the IOA was informed.  

As many as 16 Kyorugi and 10 Poomsae competitions in Taekwondo would be held at the Milam Hall in the Sports Complex in Haldwani from February 4 to 8.

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