Time for the Athletes Commission to become truly functional: Bindra

Abhinav Bindra, a Beijing Olympics gold medallist and vocal advocate of athletes' rights, has called for a “truly active and functional Athletes Commission” in sports bodies to ensure sportspersons’ rights are safeguarded and incidents of sexual harassment of athletes minimised.

- Shantanu Srivastava

Bindra's comments come in the wake of Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik's decision to quit wrestling and Tokyo Games’ bronze medallist grappler Bajrang Punia returning his Padma Shri after Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's aide Sanjay Singh won the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections.

Malik, Punia, and two-time World Championships medallist Vinesh Phogat led the protest against Brij Bhushan over his alleged sexual harassment of six female wrestlers. A chargesheet has been filed by Delhi Police against Brij Bhushan and former secretary Vinod Tomar and the case is being heard in Delhi's Rouse Avenue court.

“I firmly believe in the importance of robust and active athlete representation through fairly elected Athletes' Commissions (AC) across sports. Athlete representatives play a key role in defending athlete interests,” Bindra, India’s individual Olympic gold medallist, told HT from New York.

“While the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) established an Athletes' Commission (AC) last year, it's vital that it becomes truly active and functional. I also urge different sports federations to prioritise setting up their own athletes commissions. Including athletes in the decision-making process is not only empowering for the leadership but also instrumental in the development of both sport and athletes,” he said.