International Olympic Committee suspends India

Things must be pretty bad when you’re too corrupt for the IOC. The Indian Olympic Association has evidently gotten to that point:  In an embarrassing setback for India, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suspended India’s Olympic Association (IOA) for violating the governing body’s charter. Until the suspension is lifted, Indian athletes will not be ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
Michael Regan/Getty Images
Michael Regan/Getty Images
Michael Regan/Getty Images

Things must be pretty bad when you're too corrupt for the IOC. The Indian Olympic Association has evidently gotten to that point: 

Things must be pretty bad when you’re too corrupt for the IOC. The Indian Olympic Association has evidently gotten to that point: 

In an embarrassing setback for India, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suspended India’s Olympic Association (IOA) for violating the governing body’s charter.

Until the suspension is lifted, Indian athletes will not be able to participate in Game events, with the IOA also losing its IOC funding.

The IOC took the decision because of the IOA’s "failure to comply with the Olympic Charter and its statures, failure to inform the IOC in a timely matter, and as a protective measure against government interference in the IOA’s election process," said the Olympic governing body in a statement.

The suspension is related to the scandal-plagued 2010 Commonwealth Games. India is a notorious Olympics underperformer for a country of its size, due largely to a lack of athletic infrastructure and investment in the country. This latest development doesn’t bode well for the future. 

 

Joshua Keating is a former associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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