According to a Mumbai Mirror report, many boys and girls in both the age categories used fake Aadhar cards to get entries into the tournament, which concluded on Sunday in Pune. Many coaches and officials connected to various sports were a part of this project by the Union Government and they believe that there is a still a lot to do to curb the issue of age forgery. 

“Out of the Rs 5 lakh, Rs10,000/month will be deposited into the athletes’ account, while the remaining will be paid for their nutrition, diet, coach fee, kitting and equipment,” hockey coach Ajay Kumar Bansal explained. 

“There is good pool of talent in U-17 group. But I feel age restriction is very important. There were many players in the U-17 group, especially in the Haryana team, who looked well beyond the eligible age. At 17, you don’t grow that big moustache and beard. You don’t develop that good muscle as well,” Rahul had said.

Not only in the Khelo India Youth Games, but the issue of age forgery have been found at many major age-group sporting events all across the country.

An administrator, who refused to be named, said, “It’s all about votes in the end. Some states and coaches want to shine at the inter-state junior nationals and they’d go to any length to win it. And fielding over-age boys and girls is one way to claim supremacy over others. Not every state has indulged in this practice, but it’s an open secret at all competitions, and no one talks about it. If at all you try to create hurdles, the states will not vote for you in the federation elections. So elected administrators prefer to remain silent on this issue.”

Hockey coach Bansal has now informed that the winners at various events during Khelo India would have to go through age-verification tests. He also stressed the fact that in the coming days, Khelo India would come up with big changes.