Dharwad District athletic bodies threaten to boycott state Olympics

HUBBALLI: Alleging that the Karnataka Athletics Association (KAA) did not give opportunity to eligible players in the State Olympics, members of the Dharwad District Athletic Association (DDAA) and those from other district athletic associations have threatened to boycott the mega sporting event to be held in the twin cities from February 3 to 10.
S S Talwade, secretary, DDAA, told reporters here on Tuesday that the KAA decided to allow only top eight players in each event.“The move will affect eligible and talented sportsmen at the district level,” he said, adding that the KAA did not consult with DDAA members regarding the selection before preparing the list of players. He said that the State Olympics should be held on the lines of Dasara Sports Meet where sportspersons go through championships at the levels of taluk, district and division before making it to the state-level event. “But here only top eight players, who performed well in the 2016 state-level meet, were selected for each event. Due to this only two players from north Karnataka— one each from Belagavi and Vijayapura are featuring in the State Olympics,” said Basavaraj Halappanavar from Haveri district.
L A Yalagonnavar, Srikanth B, Prabhugouda Patil, Prathap Bellary and V H Kaladgi were present at the press conference.