Kerala athletes complain of bias

Kerala's leading athletes are complaining that they are being discriminated against. They say certain Amateur Athletic Federation of India officials from north India are showing bias towards them.

The athletes, who won medals the just-concluded Asian Games at Busan, were participating in an interactive session with reporters at the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club on Monday.

Bobby Aloysius, who won a silver medal in high jump, alleged that some influential officials from north India often sideline talent from the south.

Also present at the session were were K M Beenamol, her brother Binu, Anju Bobby George, Jincy Phillip, Manjima Kuriakose and hockey player Dinesh Nayak.

Aloysious charged that "Manjima was sidelined for the (women's) 400 metres relay" at the Asian Games in Busan. "At the last moment, another athlete ran the race. This happened because there is no one to protect the interests of athletes from the south," she said.

Ten of the 42-member Indian athletics team at the Busan Games were from Kerala. Nine of them won medals.

Double gold medal winner Beenamol complained that trials for various events are held outside the state as there is no one to take up the case of athletes from Kerala.

"Most of the time when the trials occur outside the state, the inclement weather is a detrimental factor," she observed, hastening to add that it was also because of lack of facilities in the state.

But most of the athletes agreed that things could have been better had they been based in Kerala itself and not left home to take up jobs in other states.

"I left Kerala for a good job with the Customs. I don't think I would have got such a good job if I had to work in Kerala," said the 24-year-old Kerala-born Tamil Nadu-based Anju, who won a gold medal in the women's long jump at the Games.

The Kerala government honoured the Asian Games medal winners by taking them in a convoy through the capital's main street on Monday.

Each gold medallist was given a cash prize of Rs 300,000, while the silver medal winners got Rs 200,000 and bronze awardees received Rs 100,000.