AFI to Make Coach Registration Mandatory From This Year, Track Down ‘Hideouts’ to Tackle Doping

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) will make it mandatory for all the coaches -- qualified and unqualified -- in the country to register on its portal from this season onwards if they want to continue to train athletes to take part in competitions under the national body.

This is in addition to the formation of an anti-doping cell to identify coaches suspected to be "involved in doping of their wards" and drawing up a list of training centres which serve as "hideouts" for cheats on the recommendation of a high-powered committee to deal with the menace.

The AFI will share this intelligence with the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) established by World Athletics.

Alarmed by the rising doping cases among Indian track and field athletes, the AFI, in its recent Annual General Body Meeting (AGM) in Chandigarh, has made it compulsory for all coaches to register with it or else they will be blacklisted.

"We will make this mandatory from this year. Whether qualified or unqualified, the coaches will have to register on AFI portal (just like the athletes do). If they don't do that, they will not be allowed to coach their athletes to take part in our events," a top AFI official told PTI.

"Registration of coaches was one of the recommendations (of the committee) and we had already started it. But this will be made mandatory from this year onwards and the state units will have to be involved in this task." The AFI had set up a high-powered committee headed by Delhi Police Special Cell Commissioner Sagarpreet Hooda to look into the doping issue and its recommendations have been published.

It is learnt that the AFI had, in fact, started the registration process but found a large number of coaches reluctant to register. Around 700 to 800 coaches got registered while the AFI expected 10 times this number.

That is the reason why the AFI will make registration of coaches mandatory from this year. This is all the more important since the AFI is hoping to have more than 40,000 qualified athletes by 2036, and for that it needs coaches of integrity.

"Most of the doping in Indian athletics is because of the involvement of the coaches. So, we are making it mandatory for the coaches to register with the AFI. It can't go on like this, else India may be suspended," the AFI official said.

AFI's legal adviser Parth Goswami, who is also a member of World Athletics' disciplinary and appeal panels, urged the national federation to implement the recommendations of the high-powered committee of which he was a special invitee.

"Number of coaches who have registered are very less. There is some reluctance on the part of the coaches to register because they have got the idea that the federation may take action," Goswami said.

It is also learnt that during the January 7-8 AGM, the top brass of the AFI wanted the state units, in their respective jurisdictions, to prepare a list of coaches who do not register themselves and publish it by the next AGM.

The state units can even approach their respective governments, who are giving salary to the coaches, to take action.

"No doubt, it will not be an easy job. But we have to do it and the state units will also have to act if we want to tackle this menace," the AFI official said.

Anti-doping cell to track down coaches, training centres involved in doping  

On the recommendation of a high-powered committee, the AFI will set up an Anti-doping cell to track down the coaches and training centres suspected to be involved in doping.

"One of the recommendations of the high-powered committee is to prepare a list of suspected coaches and others involved in doping to know who and which coaches are promoting doping systematically," Goswami said.

"Another is to prepare a list of centres across India which serve as hideouts and where athletes are trained with the consumption of banned substances. There are many hideouts and centres to avoid out-of-competition tests," he said.

"I believe this Anti-doping cell can do wonders. Most of doping cases are either for use of anabolic steroids or for drugs which are not easily available in the market. This shows intentional doping and the most likely involvement of coaches. So, it is necessary to implement the recommendations of the committee."