New Delhi, March 19 – A 16-year-old Taekwondo player has uncovered an "elaborate fraud" being perpetrated on thousands of athletes by an organization claiming government affiliation, and the Sports Ministry is preparing to file an FIR against it.
The teenager, who wishes to remain anonymous, contacted the ministry to inquire whether the 'Youth Khelo India Federation (YKIF)' was recognized by it and the Sports Authority of India (SAI), as stated on its official website. She stated that she had already paid ₹7,000 to participate in a purported national tournament in Udaipur in November last year.
The stakes were raised further when the same organization sought ₹825 (approximately ₹77,000) to facilitate her participation in an international tournament in Thailand in April.
"I started training in Taekwondo only last year, and a coach of mine, whom I don't want to name, told me that a national tournament was being organized by the 'Youth Khelo India Federation' in Udaipur. I participated in it and won my event; nothing seemed wrong to me; it felt like a normal competition," the class 12 student told
The multi-sport event in Udaipur from November 1 to 3 featured young athletes in Taekwondo, badminton, boxing, kickboxing, and wushu, among others.
"I paid ₹7,000 to participate, and after that, I was told that the winners would be taken to Thailand for an international competition in April, for which we needed to complete the necessary documentation and submit the fee by April 1," she recalled.
The amount to be paid was significantly higher, and the aspirant was not entirely convinced by the tournament brochure presented to her. For starters, the mascot bore a striking resemblance to Shan, the mascot of the Khelo India Winter Games, which is a snow leopard.
Although the brochure featured flags of other participating countries, including Pakistan and Bangladesh, it did not provide information on the expected number of athletes, which is standard information in tournament handbooks.
"The design looked quite cheap, and it included bank details requesting money. I thought I would simply do a basic Google search to find out, but when I couldn't get clarity, I sent an email to the sports ministry asking if the organization was genuine," she said.
It didn't take long for the ministry to understand that young athletes were being misled in its name, and it immediately took action by issuing a fact-check through the Press Information Bureau, stating, "the organization is neither recognized nor affiliated" with it. The next step is to file an FIR against the organization.
"We were shocked by the website; it had used the logos of not just the Sports Ministry and SAI, but also claimed affiliation with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)," a ministry source said.
The YKIF website claims to have over 22,000 athletes registered with it from over 200 districts. The organization claims to be headquartered in Shalimar Bagh, Delhi, and is led by Shilpi Arora, who could not be reached for a comment, although some of the other office-bearers responded