NEW DELHI: He may be India’s main medal hope in February’s Winter Olympics but Shiva Keshavan still doesn’t know if he will compete under the national flag when he hurtles down the ice on his luge in Sochi.
Keshavan, a veteran of four previous Olympics, is well accustomed to obstacles in his career representing a country better known for its sun-baked cricket pitches than frozen speed tracks.
At his first Olympics in Nagano, Japan, in 1998, the then 16-year-old competed with a borrowed sled, an oversized jacket and ill-fitting shoes.
And he was only able to enter the 2010 Vancouver Games when a group of Indian lawyers clubbed together to buy him a $10,000 replacement for a sled that he had smashed in training just before departing for Canada.
But having secured financial backing from Bollywood stars, the proud patriot’s biggest worry this time is whether he will be able to represent India, given its current suspension from the Olympic movement. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) froze India’s membership in December 2012 after its national association elected a number of tainted officials to key posts.
The officials in the row included Indian Olympic Association (IOA) secretary-general Lalit Bhanot who faces corruption charges linked to the chaotic 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
The IOA did agree earlier this month to revise its constitution, keep tainted officials out, and hold fresh elections. But the elections are not due to take place until February 9 -- two days after the Sochi Games begin -- and the IOC has already ruled out lifting India’s suspension until new officials are in place.
IOC president Thomas Bach has indicated that while Keshavan would not be barred from competition, he and three fellow Indian qualifiers -- all of whom are skiers -- would be officially classified “as independent athletes under the Olympic flag”.
“Indian athletes can participate in the Winter Games if they qualify,” Bach said on December 10.
“But if there is no election before Sochi which meets the approval of the IOC, there will be no Indian flag in the Sochi Games, there will be no mention of India.”
Agencies
