We need sports bill to deal with menace of age-fraud: Maken

New Delhi: Sports Minister Ajay Maken once again strongly campaigned for implementing the proposed Sports Bill at the earliest, so that the menace like age-fraud and doping could be dealt with.

Addressing the concerns of the budding basketball players who are forced to play against those who fudge age, Maken said he was aware of the "age-fraud" issues at schools and colleges. The Minister, however, assured that once the Sports Bill, which covers issues like sexual harassment of the athletes, strict action against age-fraud and doping, is passed, these concerns would become a thing of the past. "Once the sports bill comes into practice, this age-fraud issue would be a thing of the past as we would assure that age fraud detections will be done by the officials at all schools and colleges," said Maken, at the sidelines of a conference on "sports as a full time career in India" here. The former NBA star Kenny Natt, who has taken up the mantle of the Indian basketball team`s chief coach since last seven months, also insisted that it was extremely important to focus on youth and not on the seniors if the country want to establish itself as a good basketball nation. "The focus should really be on the youth and not on the seniors. It is a must to divert all the attention to under-18 age group, so that by the time they start playing at the senior level they are equipped with everything to play the sport at the highest stage," said Natt. PTI