Manipur Rowing Association has disputed the selection process of the state rowing squad for 36th National Games to be held in Gujarat and has appealed to the chief minister and sports minister to inquire about it.
Association president Ningombam Thoiba said that and Adhoc committee formed by Manipur Olympic Association conducted a trial at Moirang Takmu Water Sports Complex on August 14 for the said Games.
Thoiba said the members of the rowing team was announced in newspapers on August 17 without informing or consulting any technical experts.
He further said, after completing the trial selection a meeting held at MOA office on August 14 was not able to decide the final selection list. Over and above that, the team manager who will be leading the rowing team for the national games is a person who was dismissed from Manipur Rowing Association, he added.
“How can a person who was deregistered and dismissed from the rowing association lead the team players for national games?” he questioned.
He recalled that the Manipur Rowing Association was registered under the Manipur Societies Registration Act, 1989 on December 29, 1994 with 30 founding members. In 2014, with the decision of the annual general body meeting the association admitted 39 members and again in 2020 admission of 20 members was made with the decision of managing committee.
However, it was revealed that admission of more members was in violation of rules and regulations of Manipur Rowing Association and Manipur Societies Registration Rules, 2004. Therefore, only 30 founder members were the members of association and the rest were cancelled, Thoiba informed.
Continuing, he said that S Rameshor, who has been selected as the team manager of the rowing team for National Games, is not a member of Manipur Rowing Association. He cannot be team manager of the rowing team, he asserted.
He also said that some of the rowers selected are doubling in different events and that they cannot perform double time. It should be seen technically, he added.
