Mismanagement during fitness trial drains out sports applicants

There was mismanagement and chaos at the sports quota trials for Delhi University’s SGTB Khalsa College on Tuesday.

There were altercations between parents and trial organisers. 

At the Delhi Police’s Polo Ground in GTB Nagar – where trials took place – there was only one makeshift shed, capable of accommodating no more than 50 applicants. Others found respite from heat in washrooms of the stadia building. 

“We are here because of the AC. The trials started two hours late. My reporting time was 7.30 am,” said a national level tennis player, requesting anonymity.

About 10 students slept on the washroom floor with their heads resting on their bags.  College officials said they had received about 1,450 applications for sports quota, which is nearly 200 more than last year. 

“We have been standing in the queue for more than two hours. Officials say sportsmen are supposed to stand in sun. And I told them they are supposed to perform – and not stand in sun,” said Sunil Bakshi (first name changed), father of a sports applicant. 

Intense argument

He had an intense argument with an organiser after he complained that some people were trying to jump the queue to get their fitness certificates – which will exempt them from similar fitness trials at other colleges. The fitness tests are a prerequisite for qualifying for game performance and game-specific fitness tests. 

All DU colleges are required to reserve minimum 5 per cent sports quota in all undergraduate courses. 

“Sportsmen are supposed to play in all kinds of conditions. There is so much rush because this is the first ever sports trial being conducted by any DU college. Parents are getting agitated because they came before their reporting time,” said sports expert Arvind Kapoor appointed by the university to conduct fitness tests. 

Students and their parents said they were not informed about that they have to bring their documents along.

“They are asking for class 12 certificate, photograph and ID proof,” said a woman hockey player, who had come from Delhi’s satellite city of Ghaziabad. “I had to call my parents to get me the certificates,” she added. 

Two hours after the sports trial had begun, all 20-litre water containers had finished till the last drop. Sportsperson had to either rely on expensive orange juice and shikanji (lemonade) being sold outside or had to fetch water bottles from the nearby market, a 10-minute walk away. 

The tennis player when contacted around 6 pm said, “I was finished with my trial at around 11.30 am. But I haven’t got my fitness certificate as yet.”  

Pricey forms

The pre-admission forms for entry through sports quota was sold for Rs 300 at Sri Guru Tegh Bahadar Khalsa College, which is nearly 6-30 times more than other Delhi University colleges.

Justifying the decision for charging more from applicants, principal of Khalsa college Jaswinder Singh had said his college is likely to incur a cost of Rs 4-5 lakh in conducting sports trials. 

He said the fitness tests continued beyond 8 pm. “The chaos was caused by the parents who came along with their children,” he added.