Panaji: Politicians and moneyed people have captured sports associations in India and this is killing sports, India's star athlete of yesteryears Milkha Singh said Tuesday.
"Politicians and people with money have captured sports associations. That is why there is no progress," said Singh, often referred to as the 'Flying Sikh', told media persons on the sidelines of the unveiling of the mascot for the Lusofonia Games here.
Singh's comment come less than a week after the Supreme Courtexpressed concern that politicians and businessmen were heading the various sports associations in India.
A bench of Justices T.S. Thakur and J. Chelameshwar Dec 5 observed it was "a sad commentary that people who are administrators of the game have nothing to do with sports and they run the bodies at the cost of the game".
"Sports are run by private individual persons. Private individuals are controlling the games in India. Can the game be held hostage by private interest," it said.
