SAI to handle para-athletics matters for now

New Delhi, May 26: The sports ministry on Tuesday announced that the Sports Authority of India (SAI) will take charge of "all the matters related to para-athletes, including selection of athletes for various sporting events".

This is because the International Paralympic Committtee (IPC) and Indian government had suspended the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) last month for gross negligence of athletes and poor management of the 15th National Para Athletics Championships in Ghaziabad during March.

"The sports ministry has decided that all the matters relating to para-athletes, including selection of athletes for various sporting events, conduct of coaching camps, and submission of entries of para-athletes in international tournaments, shall be taken care of by SAI till further orders," the ministry said in a statement.

The suspension means that Indians are barred from taking part in IPC sanctioned events, including next year's Paralympics at Rio de Janeiro. Earlier, the ministry had urged the IPC to allow Indians to participate in competitions under their national flag.