Delhi HC Directs Taekwondo Federation Of India To Conduct Fresh Trials

In an order dated October 20, 2023, the Delhi High Court in Ugen Gurung & Ors. vs. Union of India & Ors. [WP(C) 13367/2023] directed respondent no.5, Taekwondo Federation of India, to conduct fresh trials for the selection of players in National Games 2023.

In light of three separate Associations claiming to represent the interests of Taekwondo players in the country, i.e., India Taekwondo (respondent no.3), Taekwondo Federation of India through Secretary General, Prabhat Kumar Sharma (respondent no.4), and Taekwondo Federation of India through Secretary General, R.D Mangueskar (respondent no.5), the petitioner players ended up not taking part in the National Championship organised by respondent no.5. Consequently, the petitioner players were not allowed to participate in the National Games 2023.

Following the decision of the Court in April 2022, the election of the TFI Executive Committee was held under the supervision of the retired judge, Justice Sistani.

In the present case, the Court concluded with a direction to respondent no.5 to conduct fresh trials for the selection of one player in each weight category except for the 67 Kg female category after which the players would be provided wild card entries to take part in the National Championship. It was ruled that, amongst the eight players already selected, a player would be selected to compete with the wild card through a draw of the lot and “the winner in the bout will proceed to the next round to compete with the other seven contestants and proceed further”.

A day after the said order was pronounced, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports issued a circular specifying the dates and venue for the selection trials.

The matter will be heard next on November 8, 2023.