‘Suresh Kalmadi has not done anything for sports’
By Tushar Dutt | Place: Pune | Agency: DNA
The news of Congressman and MP, Suresh Kalmadi’s arrest evoked strong reactions from the city’s sports fraternity.
“I am happy with the arrest. This man has been manipulating the whole system, be it the Indian Olympic Association or Hockey India, for so many years. I feel it should come to an end now,” said secretary of Maharashtra Hockey Association, Ikram Khan.
Khan said bitterly, “Kalmadi has not done anything for sports in the city. What he has done is to include his men on the sports organisations to make things simpler for himself. It was unbelievable to see that he made his paid secretary, Manoj Bhore, a member with voting rights of Hockey India.”
A sportsman from the city echoed Khan’s opinion. He said that apart from the infrastructure in Balewadi, Kalmadi has done nothing to improve the standard of sports in the city. “If you look at Haryana, you will see how much advanced they are when it comes to sports,” he said.
When contacted, former hockey captain, Dhanraj Pillay, declined to comment.
Expressing support for Kalmadi, the former president of the Indian Women’s Hockey Federation, Arnavaz Damania, said Kalmadi had been used by people close to him. “It is a big shock because this man has been a good organiser. As far as the cases are concerned, I feel others have taken advantage of him. He has done a lot for sports culture in Pune and it is sad to see things being settled like this,” she said.