Asian Games 2018: Gymnastics Federation of India announces date for trials, puts top athletes in a spot of bother
What's the story?
In the latest series of events, the Gymnastics Federation of India, notwithstanding its tiff with the Indian Olympic Association, has announced June 24th to serve as the date for the trials ahead of the Asian Games which has put top athletes in a spot of a dilemma.
In case you didn't know...
The Asian Games, also known as Jakarta Palembang 2018 is scheduled to be held at two different venues in Bandung and West Java, Jakarta which will host 462 events across 40 sports from the 18th of August 2018.
Heart of the Matter
Some of the elite players, who are currently undergoing training as part of a preparatory camp that is taking place in New Delhi now face a tough situation ahead as the camp is scheduled to come to a close on the 23rd of June, which would make it difficult for the athletes to arrive in Pune the next day for the trials.
Only a couple of days prior to the announcement, the IOA's general secretary Rajit Mehta was seen probing at the idea of creating a selection committee to pick the team which would travel to Indonesia for the competition. However, the sudden announcement has blown the situation out of proportions.
The recent issue has surfaced after the IOA elected Bowling Federation president Sunaina Kumari as the chairperson of the selection committee ahead of the Commonwealth Games, an issue which was sorted out by the International Gymnastics Federation soon after.
What's Next?
Given the fact that both the sports ministry and the Indian Olympic Federation believe that the GFI is not recognised by the International Gymnastics Federation, the move to call for the trials could double up to be a huge matter of discussion for top officials in the coming weeks.
How do you think this will affect the top gymnasts of the country? Let us know in the comments section.