Noida: The 12-member Under-19 boys’ team from Gautam Budh Nagar was barred from participating in the state junior basketball championship held from April 5-8 for an alleged fault that was not of the players’ making.Uttar Pradesh Basketball Association (UPBA) refused to recognise the NCR district’s newly elected basketball body, saying its elections were “not conducted according to procedure”, setting off a dispute that ensnared the young athletes, some of whom will cross the age threshold by the time the next tournament is held.“We were preparing for months,” said Yuvraj Bhati (18) a member of the team that won silver last year. “This was my last chance to get a state-level participation certificate. We were aiming for gold this time.”A similar impasse also hangs over the girls’ U-19 team, whose tournament begins in Prayagraj April 10. The district association has moved Supreme Court, seeking interim relief and permission for the girls’ team to compete.Elections to Gautam Budh Nagar Basketball Association (GBNBA) were held on March 24 in which incumbent president Rahim Bawa was re-elected. Sakshi Chand was elected general secretary, replacing Vikram Duggal.“On March 26, GBNBA wrote to UPBA informing them about the new body. On March 29, team entries for the UP State Junior Championship were sent. When no response was received, another mail was sent on April 2,” Chand told TOI.On April 3, UPBA responded by setting a condition that eligibility forms must carry signatures of both Bawa and Duggal — the previous office-bearers — for the team to be accepted. The association made participation conditional on this requirement being met. It wasn’t.UPBA general secretary Dileep Singh told TOI that the team was barred from participation because procedure was not followed for the elections. “GBNBA was told that signatures of Duggal and Bawa are required on eligibility forms for the U-19 boys’ team to participate. It was clearly informed to the association that the team from Gautam Budh Nagar shall be considered eligible to participate only if it is sent with consensus between Duggal and Bawa,” said Singh.UPBA reiterated this in an email on April 3. The district body still decided to go ahead and send the team to Pratapgarh, 700 km away, for the championship. But with the door remaining shut, the boys returned home disappointed.Asked what the procedural violation was, Singh said, “They asked for an observer and gave an election date, which is not the procedure. They should have discussed with us before holding the election, and then we would have given them a date and sent an observer. The way the elections were held is not recognised by UPBA.”GBNBA officials maintained it is an independent body and can conduct its elections autonomously. Its members said repeated appeals were made to allow the players to compete, arguing that the dispute should not affect the athletes.Bawa said Duggal was also approached multiple times for signatures to safeguard the players’ interests but he didn’t respond. “We sent the team without the signatures, hoping UPBA would relax the condition in the players’ interest,” he said.Chand said she did not sign as UPBA specifically sought Duggal’s signature. Duggal, meanwhile, told TOI he could not sign as he was no longer general secretary. “I have been in the association for the last 15 years and there was never any issue with the team’s participation,” he said. He, however, alleged that GBNBA elections were “held unfairly”, adding that he had raised the issue with the deputy registrar of societies and UPBA.The boys’ team has several players from modest backgrounds, including children of daily wagers in Noida. For at least six players who recently turned 18, participation was crucial for strengthening prospects of admission under the sports quota, particularly in Delhi University.Neeraj Ahirwar (18) said his hopes of securing college admission through sports quota were dashed. “I have been playing basketball since I was 10 and hoped to get into a good college through the sports quota. This opportunity has been taken away from me at the last moment,” he said.Singh clarified the players would be allowed to appear in state team selection trials but would not receive participation certificates.Bawa, however, said even this would benefit only those players who eventually get selected. “What about the others? Participation certificates would have helped them in college admissions,” he said.
