By Santosh Rao
By IANS,
New Delhi: Two girls of Kabul’s Rabia Balkhi High School have been medically found overage and debarred from playing in the Subroto Cup football tournament. The Afghan team cried foul and pulled out of their match Saturday against champions Nasipur High School of West Bengal, saying it couldn’t now field a fit eleven.
A visibly distraught Afghan coach Faiz Mohammad Nazari said he could not field a team when two of his best players were thrown out of the competition and three others injured.
“How come the doctors picked two of our best players? This is unfair and I am very angry. Beside those two, three of our players are injured and how could I be expected to field a team with just nine fit players,” he asked talking to IANS.
“I even tried to call the organisers but they wouldn’t even come on the line.”
Madina, one of the girls barred, said she felt humiliated and feared she would not be able to play football if her parents come to know of it.
“This is so humiliating that I am scared to tell my family. I love football and now I feel my parents might not let me play again. The doctors don’t know what they have done to me,” said a sobbing Madina.
“The doctors broke my heart. I have a passport and ID which show that I am 16, but they wouldn’t accept it.
“This is very unfair, I cried for two days. They have robbed Sheila (other player barred) and me of a great opportunity of playing football,” said Madina.
This is not the first time that age has become major issue in the Subroto Cup. Last year the entire Afghanistan under-17 boys’ team was debarred after they were pronounced overage medically.
When contacted, secretary of the Air Force Sports Control Board, Wing Commander V.M Singh, said all the players went through a medical check-up and overage players were debarred.
“It’s written quite clearly in the prospectus that a medical check-up for age determination is a prerequisite and the doctors’ word would be final. First we have an external examination and then go for X-ray and bone testing,” he told IANS.
Radiologists at the Air Force hospital, Race Course Road, conduct these tests.
“Doctors were convinced the two Afghan players were overage. It is not that we have a personal agenda against the Afghan players, some Indian players have also been banned.”
Rules are the same for everyone. If we bend the rule for one team then we’ll have to do it for others as well. It just won’t be fair to those kids who are actually of the right age,” he said.
Afghanistan is not the only team to have lost players for being overage. Five players from the Nagaland boys team were debarred and the north-eastern team will be playing with ten players.