In light of recent complaints about age fraud surfacing at the ongoing Kerala School Sports Meet, Minister for General Education, V. Sivankutty, has declared that individuals found responsible for such deceitful practices will be permanently barred from participating in school meets and all other sports competitions.
The controversy first erupted when the results for the senior girls’ 100-meter and 200-meter races were withheld. This followed accusations that the silver medalist in both events had falsified her age. The athlete, originally from Uttar Pradesh, was representing St. Joseph’s Higher Secondary School (HSS), Pulloorampara, Kozhikode. Official complaints from RM HSS, Aloor, and BEM HSS, Palakkad, cited her date of birth listed on the Athletics Federation of India website, which indicated her ineligibility for the Under-19 category. Consequently, the results for these events have been revised, moving the third and fourth-place contestants up to second and third positions, respectively.
St. Joseph’s HSS soon faced another controversy when the gold medalist in the sub-junior boys’ 100-meter and 200-meter categories, also from Uttar Pradesh, was similarly accused of age fraud.
Addressing the growing concerns about age manipulation and allegations of financial incentives used to bring young athletes from other states to compete, the Minister assured that stringent measures would be implemented. He also highlighted other unethical practices that have caught the department’s attention, such as coaches’ children competing in events where those coaches serve as judges.
“Action will extend to the schools involved as well. There will be no leniency for anyone attempting to tarnish the reputation of such a significant event,” Minister Sivankutty stated emphatically. He further added that an executive order would soon be introduced to effectively combat these fraudulent activities.