Few women have rewritten record books as much as Anju Bobby George. In 2003 at Paris, she became India’s only medal winner at the World Championships in athletics, jumping a height of 6.70 metres to win a bronze in the long jump event. A year later at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, she set an Indian record for the long jump which still stands, jumping a distance of 6.83 m. And finally in 2005, she won gold at the World Athletics finals.
The 39-year old is an inspiration for many promising talents in the state where she hails from, Kerala. But unfortunately her tenure as president of the Kerala Sports Council was brought to an end in an unseemly controversy in June. George filed a complaint against the newly-appointed Kerala sports minister EP Jayarajan accusing the minister of abusing and harassing her. Later in the month, she stepped down from the post, citing untenable circumstances.
In a quick interview with Scroll, George warned that other Indian athletes would think twice before getting into sports administration, after the way she was treated.
Could you elaborate on the reasons behind your resignation from the Kerala Sports Council?
A. It started when we went to meet the newly-appointed Kerala sports minister, EP Jayarajan. The way he responded to us was not how we expected. All the transfers and appointments we had suggested were being questioned and we were called corrupt. He accused us of all being directly elected members of the previous government. His demeanour was totally wrong.
It was not our fault that we were appointed by the previous United Democratic Front government. We are only sports persons – we do not belong to any party. Sports is our party and our religion.
When did you decide to get involved with Kerala sports?
A. I did not clamour to be given a post. I am already the chairperson of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme and was perfectly happy with that. It was the Kerala government who invited me to become the president of the Kerala Sports Council. They told me that having a high-profile athlete like me would be very beneficial. And I felt it was my duty to help the cause of sport in Kerala.
Could you talk about some of the things you tried to implement during your tenure?
A. I was only appointed in December 2014. We lost two months due to elections. One of the main things I tried to do was implement an Ethics Commission to probe irregularities because after some digging, we found irregularities in many files. But we faced lots of problems in implementing that commission.
What were these problems?
A. There were people, whom I do not want to name, who did not want an Ethics Commission to come into place as they would have been caught. They caused all manners of problems. We even had to file a complaint to the Cyber Cell but unfortunately could not track the culprit. It was very unfortunate because implementing an Ethics Commission was something I really believed in and wanted to do.
From Kasargod to Trivandrum, we went on district visits and tried to identify and solve issues that athletes face. Like lack of proper accommodation, infrastructural issues, the need to provide proper nutrition. My aim was to create a three-levelled structure which would help in administering sports in the state.
How can things improve?
A. We are sport-persons, not politicians. We love sports. But because of these kinds of incidents, no big sports person will want to get involved in doing anything for their sports. We are all getting scared away. There has to be some transparency in decision-making. The Sports Council cannot make a decision and the Sports Ministry a different decision. It is the athletes who are the ones who get affected the most as the decision-making is completely delayed.
Parting shots?
A. My only solution is that if we are serious about improving sports in India, we must let sports-persons and those who love sports to take major decisions, from top to bottom. Otherwise, nothing will change.
I will continue serving Indian sports in my capacity. I want to give the best exposure, best facilities to Indian athletes and I don’t need any post to do that.