New Delhi: Athletes are to be blamed for the frequent doping scandals to hit the country as the temptation to cheat is huge, according to Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar.
"It's the first person, the athletes are themselves to be blamed for doing this repeatedly," he said.
The Minister was referring to dope episodes involving the Indian contingent in major events like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. Aiyar did not think that the athletes were choosing the wrong path in connivance with sport officials.
"They do not require any connivance of sports authorities to do this. If you are suggesting that in random sampling we do, the results are being skewed up, then I have no evidence of it," he said on Saturday.
"The performance of our best athletes is much below the international standards but the rewards are very high. The temptation (to resort to drugs) is thus very huge," he added.
The Sports Minister also said the dope control system was being upgraded and that he was keen to have a WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) accredited lab as soon as possible.
"The SAI is dragging its feet on it. I had a meeting with the Sports Authority of India officials recently. I have been insistent on completing the process as soon as possible. But we have to go through several phases," he said.
The Sports Minister said it hurt to see that the real talent was still going untapped due to the short sightedness of the Sports Federations.
"At present we are doing very well in elite sports like shooting, which is an expensive sport. But are our sports federations doing all that they can to nurture sports at the grass roots level?
"Sports federations are autonomous bodies. They make the laws and get elected. Sports is a state subject and not much can be done about the way they function.
"The grossly exploitative style of putting little boy Buddhia run. I don't approve of that at all, but that's how we find our sports talent," he said.
Aiyar stressed on developing sports at the grass root level for he believes that alone can help the country win more laurels in international meets.
"Nearly 72 crore young people in the country do not get sporting facilities. Government's Panchayat Yuva Khel Abhiyan is directed at tapping talents in rural areas by extending the facilities to the villages," he said.
"We can at least ensure there is a playfield in every panchayat and youngsters have access to minimum facilities like a 200m and 400m track, perhaps a field with goalposts. We have to ensure participation of the entire community and not just one section of the society."
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