Time APOA gets its act together

The Andhra Pradesh Olympic Association (APOA), which was dormant and virtually defunct for almost four years now, appears to have found the springboard to come to the spotlight all over again.This is largely because of recent activities that are endeavoured to put the house in order, much to the delight of sportspersons from various disciplines, drawn from all over the State.Should the incumbent associates work their plan together, it would be back to normal for the Association, whereby they could take active interest and render a job for which they have been put in place, in the first place. The first step towards the same was taken when around 20 personnel, including past and present office-bearers, met in the city on Wednesday to chalk out the future course of action. This comes as a follow-up of the recent court order which has 're-instated' Lagadapati Rajagopal and K Jagadishwar Yadav, as the Association president and secretary respectively.Taken at face value, this could be a good beginning, particularly to all those athletes who need the APOA umbrella to make any further progress in their career. On that count, a hyper-active panel, as in the good old days, will hold immense utility value.However, there are many aspects that the panel has to address on a priority basis.

That, of course, depends on how the revitalized body goes about the job of rebuilding the State's sports scenario.For starters, the panel needs to conduct elections for the new term. This needs a deep dwelling into various corresponding, including administrative, factors because the last APOA elections were held in 2009. For instance, a legitimately valid voters' list has to be firmed up.It is a tragic irony that soon after the court clearance, the honourable members revealed that their 'interests' lay elsewhere and not inclined on development from within the available resources. They have actually sent a wrong message with their first statement since the green signal from the court of law. Although, it is understandable that funds are paramount for the promotion of sport of any discipline, what cannot miss the eye is that almost all associations have been conducting tournaments at periodical intervals even in the absence of State generosity. Now the members have extolled the chief (who happens to be a ruling party Lok Sabha member) to use his good offices for getting higher allocation in the State's annual budget. There is no denying the fact that money is a compulsive ingredient but then that is not the end-all. Neither is it the only driving force behind improving or undoing an individual's performance on the day of reckoning. As things stand, the APOA administrators should primarily aim at rebuilding the confidence among the athletes that they could be trusted as individuals who were keen on developing sport across vistas and not there merely as power-mongers. At a time when the government of the day has enhanced budgetary allocations, and there is a proposal to establish a sports varsity, it is pretty obvious that proven achievers would be adequately 'taken care of' by way of financial rewards, thanks to sponsors looking beyond cricket, badminton and tennis. The new set up would do well if it pursues the proposals to set up mini-stadia by coordinating with the respective public servants rather than keep pressing for 'more' funds. That, in a way, is the least that is expected of the gentlemen running the APOA, particularly at a time when the global body is trying to initiate talks to 'lift' the ban on the Indian Olympic Association.