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National School Games selection spots sold for cash: Reports
A bribery scandal has rocked the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), with selectors allegedly taking money to pick unqualified athletes for national tournaments.
National School Games Selection Sold for Cash (Photo credit: Daily Excelsior
Young athletes were allowed to compete in national level tournaments conducted by the School Games Federation of India for a bribe.
As per a report in Dainik Bhaskar, a leading Hindi daily in the country, selectors ML Sahoo and Rajeev Kumar were caught selecting athletes who had never played the sport in exchange for money.
Athletes were asked to pay Rs 40,000 to be selected to play in events like women's cricket and badminton. The amount stood at Rs 35,000 for football, Rs 28,000 for hockey and kho kho, Rs 25,000 for volleyball, Rs 18,000 for athletics, and more.
Athletes were even offered a spot without any trials at the 2025 World School Sport Games, which are slated to be held in Serbia later in the year, for as much as Rs 2.5 lakhs.
Deepak Kumar, the principal secretary of the School Games Federation of India, distanced themselves from the scandal.
"Our responsibility is to only host the tournaments," he said. "Team selection is the lookout of the selectors."
This is not the first time that the School Games Federation of India has been embroiled in a controversy.
Three years back, in 2022, the federation was accused of using government emblems to collect money from students for World School Gymnasiade.
