The problem of overage fraud has been eating away the sports in India since so many years.This blog is about this problem and ways to curb this issue.
Overage fraud has been a very old problem that exists in India.From cricket to badminton it has left no sport.Players deliberately cut down their ages to get an edge over the other players.The impact of this is very adverse.Due to this they definitely get an edge in the junior level but when they move to the senior level this starts to fade away as after reaching the senior level everyone reaches a stage where only talent matters.Because of this the talented honest players could not come up and eventually leave the sport.
Though there exists a law over which finds this as a punishable offense but there is no system to find out this offense.The officials rely upon Date of Birth certificates which can be easily manipulated.Also cross checking of the certificate is done only if someone objects.Due to lack of evidence most of the players could easily get away.The punishment of finding this offense is also very minimal i.e a ban of few years after which the players can return back to the sport.Ethically this is so unfair for an honest sportsperson as it is so difficult to catch a fraud case as fake Date of Birth Certificates are made easily and on a large scale in our country.
But I am happy that things have started to change in atleast sports like cricket and badminton.Now in national level tournaments players have to undergo a bone test which can detect the age fraud till some years.Though it has been started one year back only in badminton but the results came as a shock.About 50% players were found to have given a fake Age proof certificate.Even it is a shame that some of the former junior national champions have also been found guilty.A CBI case has been running against three such national champions.This is so unfortunate to see as the loss that it has made in past is unmeasurable and the number of honest players whose carrier may have ended must have been very high.But I am happy this practice will discontinue in future.
Finally I believe the Sports Authority of India must make it Compulsory for all players of all sports to undergo a age detection medical test.Also the punishment must be made more strict,a lifetime ban should be imposed on the players found guilty.Also a more advanced technique should be used to detect the overage fraud which can detect even the difference of few months.It is very necessary to overcome this problem for the betterment of Indian Sports.
Overage fraud has been a very old problem that exists in India.From cricket to badminton it has left no sport.Players deliberately cut down their ages to get an edge over the other players.The impact of this is very adverse.Due to this they definitely get an edge in the junior level but when they move to the senior level this starts to fade away as after reaching the senior level everyone reaches a stage where only talent matters.Because of this the talented honest players could not come up and eventually leave the sport.
Though there exists a law over which finds this as a punishable offense but there is no system to find out this offense.The officials rely upon Date of Birth certificates which can be easily manipulated.Also cross checking of the certificate is done only if someone objects.Due to lack of evidence most of the players could easily get away.The punishment of finding this offense is also very minimal i.e a ban of few years after which the players can return back to the sport.Ethically this is so unfair for an honest sportsperson as it is so difficult to catch a fraud case as fake Date of Birth Certificates are made easily and on a large scale in our country.
But I am happy that things have started to change in atleast sports like cricket and badminton.Now in national level tournaments players have to undergo a bone test which can detect the age fraud till some years.Though it has been started one year back only in badminton but the results came as a shock.About 50% players were found to have given a fake Age proof certificate.Even it is a shame that some of the former junior national champions have also been found guilty.A CBI case has been running against three such national champions.This is so unfortunate to see as the loss that it has made in past is unmeasurable and the number of honest players whose carrier may have ended must have been very high.But I am happy this practice will discontinue in future.
Finally I believe the Sports Authority of India must make it Compulsory for all players of all sports to undergo a age detection medical test.Also the punishment must be made more strict,a lifetime ban should be imposed on the players found guilty.Also a more advanced technique should be used to detect the overage fraud which can detect even the difference of few months.It is very necessary to overcome this problem for the betterment of Indian Sports.
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