The Indian government has set up a new committee, Sports Experts Advisory Committee (SEAC), to identify and nurture budding sports talent.
The 17-member panel, chaired by Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, includes three Olympic medalists – boxer Mary Kom, tennis star Leander Paes, and badminton champion Saina Nehwal.
Raksha Khadse, the union minister of state for sports, will be vice chairperson while the sports secretary or joint secretary will be convenor of the newly formed Sports Experts Advisory Committee.
Tennis ace Leander Paes is a bronze medallist from Atlanta 1996 while boxer Mary Kom and badminton player Saina Nehwal are both bronze medal winners from London 2012.
Other prominent members featuring in the committee include Shiny Abraham (athletics), Heena Sidhu (shooting), Maj Gen VK Bhatt (rowing), Zafar Iqbal (hockey), PK Garg (sailing), Armando Colaco (football), Ashok Kumar (wrestling), Bhanu Sachdeva (swimming) and Parul Dalsukhbhai Parmar (para-badminton).
Several coaches and top officials are also members of the panel, including the CEO of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) and the Executive Director of Teams Division at the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
Objectives of Sports Experts Advisory Committee
The committee’s aim is to focus on talent identification and development at the junior level, ensuring that national teams are selected in transparent manner and monitoring coaching standards at national camps.
It will evaluate both Indian and foreign coaches, analyse national campers’ progress and provide performance reviews.
Furthermore, the panel will oversee India’s performance in global events, address grievances of athletes with National Sports Federations (NSFs) and offer strategic inputs to Sports Authority of India (SAI) and NSFs on Long-Term Development Plans (LTDPs).
Sports Experts Advisory Committee also will work to align NSF structures with global best practices and reduce legal disputes over selection policies.
Another key objective is strengthening direct communication between athletes and the government, improving NSF governance and assessing event arrangements, facilities and other infrastructure.
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Sports Expert Panel
Additionally, a 17-member Sports Expert Panel consisting of elite athletes, experienced coaches and top officials has been formed to further aid the committee in its objective.
It includes Dola Banerjee (archery), Bhairavi Naik (cycling), Mohan Ukkrapandian (volleyball), Alka Tomar (wrestling), Shiv Singh (boxing), Ashwini Nachappa (athletics), Rani Rampal (hockey), Deepak Hooda (kabaddi) and Vijender Singh (boxing).
R Rajan (basketball), Saurav Ghosal (squash), Cawas Billimoria (judo), Hansa Sharma (weightlifting), Devender Kumar Rathore (gymnastics), Debasish Biswas (mountain climbing), Rahul Choksi (mallakhamb) and Rachna Sharma (athletics) are also a part of the panel.
The Sports Experts Advisory Committee will collaborate with the expert panel with focus on athlete development and uplift Indian sports to global heights.
