THE CHALLENGE OF AGE VERIFICATION IN INDIAN SPORTS!

Lately, a lot of identity fraud cases have emerged in the world of sports. Take any sport and you would see that many of the prodigies and upcoming players have allegedly been found overage. Why, do you wonder? To answer this question, we need to understand the issue from a broader perspective.

While many sportspersons are thriving in their respective games, using the fraud for their benefit, a lot of people are also losing several opportunities which were rightfully theirs. The reason being the lack of opportunities, facilities, and sports culture in the country. However, this has turned out to be a tedious matter.

Famous Cricketer, Rahul Dravid highlighted the same issue and went on to say, “Age fraud leads to an erosion of culture. It leads to a scenario where a lot of talented boys don’t get to play when they should actually be playing.”

Many of the players who fit the right eligibility for tournaments and similar gigs are overthrown by other players who choose to play the fraud card during the selection process. What happens is that these players in many cases are deprived of proper training, proper facilities and choose to opt for other sports programmers using fake identity as crutches towards victory.

However, who’s on the right or wrong side?

Many sportspersons create fake identity cards to become eligible for different opportunities. For instance, during the Khelo India games, there were multiple complaints regarding age fraud. A weightlifter came up with a fake Aadhaar Card, participated for the under-17 category and then participated in another tournament later, which declared him above 17 years old.

With the country’s sport management deteriorating year by year, the cases of age fraud keep increasing. This is largely the scenario in rural areas, as the players are not given many benefits. Many sportspersons who strive to build their career on their passion, grit and glory, therefore end up taking other corporate jobs or migrate to cities for jobs as an alternative. Despite their constant battle against bias management, who allow these frauds to happen?

The challenge of verification is another advantage to these fraudsters. These players know that the management is very lenient and it has also appeared that the management is pro-bribes, which makes it easier for fraudsters to walk right in.

What is the ultimate solution to end the fraud chain?

Create a better society for sportspersons, encourage theme, provide each and every area with the right essentials, training, and every other facility needed.

With the current situation in consideration, a lot has been done to curb the existence of age fraud. However, there’s a lot more to be done by the main authority.