National Games 2025: Taekwondo competition director removed over fixing allegations

According to a statement released by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), T Praveen Kumar, the sport's competition director, was removed a day before the start of the taekwondo competition at the 38th National Games in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. This was due to fears of alleged competition manipulation.

Interestingly, the Prevention of Manipulation of Competition Committee (PMC) had received complaints from Taekwondo Federation of India (TFI) officials fixing the result in 10 of the 16 weight categories at the National Games 2025.

“The asking price is Rs 3 lakh for a gold medal, Rs 2 lakh for silver and Rs 1 lakh for bronze,” the IOA said in its statement.

Based on the strong recommendations of a three-member PMC, the Games Technical Conduct Committee (GTCC) has removed Praveen as director of competitions. He was replaced by S. Dinesh Kumar.

“It is shocking and sad that the National Games medals were allegedly decided away from the field of play even before the start of competitions. At the Indian Olympic Association we are committed to being fair to all our athletes and protect them from people conniving to manipulate the competition and tarnish the image of the National Games,” IOA president PT Usha said.

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PMC makes four recommendations ahead of the competition at National Games 2025

After receiving the complaints, the PMC Committee was quick to come up with four recommendations to hold the integrity of the Games.

Its first recommendation was for the IOA to replace the competition director. Secondly, it suggested IOA president that at least 50% of the nominated technical officials be replaced with qualified officials who hold international or national certifications.

The third recommendation was to record the entire competition and preserve the footage for future reference if need be. Finally, PMC requested a team of officials nominated by the GTCC to mark their presence during the competition.

Sunaina Kumari, the chairperson of the technical conduct committee said it is important to follow the directives of the PMC committee.

“It is important that we take on board the recommendations of the PMC Committee and protect the integrity of the 38th National Games,” she said.