National Sports Day report card for federations: F for AIFF, A for NRAI

On National Sports Day, we take a pause, a breath, and do what any self-respecting Indian has grown up doing on big days such as this: look at report cards. Here, we choose certain key federations and grade them (from A+ to F, but you already knew that) on four key criteria. Here's how India's big federations stack up:

All India Football Federation (AIFF)

Admin & Governance: F

Neglects basic duties such as running a first division, listening to technical committee (in national coach selection), can't decide who has won second division.

Results in competition: D

Women's team succeeding despite official apathy. Men's team floundering. Need to pay attention, in both cases.

Litigation: F

Gets into a lot of cases. Either loses all of them or doesn't represent proactively. Over the past few months has lost cases in the Court of Arbitration of Sport, delayed representation in the Supreme Court while the ISL is suspended.

Public perception: F

No trust, no belief. Couldn't possibly get worse. How else would a public who doesn't know if/when the first division (ISL) will happen, react?

Overall: F

If this were school, parents would be having a sit down with the principal to prevent rustication. Especially considering FIFA are threatening a ban if their house is not brought to order pronto.

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All India Chess Federation (AICF)

Admin & Governance: B

Easy to govern, system produces the players needed. Probably best to not keep everyone in the dark about the World Cup venue until two months from the start, though.

Results: A+

Most successful Indian sport in the last year. Men's Word Champion, Women's World Cup winner, Olympiad golds (both teams)... pure dominance.

Litigation: A

Not involved in any scrambles of note to courts, at the moment.

Public Perception: A+

The audience for the sport is growing by the day, and more big events coming to India will only help further that.

Overall: A

Running smoothly. Some admin changes to make, but arguably the most problem-free sporting federation in India.

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Badminton Association of India (BAI)

Admn & Governance: B

Fulfils most basic functions, has strong ambitions, works toward becoming better and building more infrastructure for the future... however there are some gaps that need to be covered: lack of a second line for years, not all players being centralized, coaching carousel across the board, complaints from foreign players about tournament organization.

Results in competition: B

If you only look at 2025, this grade should be lower. But has credit in store for past performances.

Litigation: A

Has not got into any major cases recently, which is good.

Public perception: A

Very good. Is one of the most popular sports in the country. Add player success, and we have a winner.

Overall: A

A very solid system in place but there is room for improvement (central coaching systems, bench strength issues). Good thing is, they seem to be aware of the issues to be addressed. The 'A' factors in past results, those standards must now be met continuously.

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Athletics Federation of Indian (AFI)

Admin & Governance: D

National competitions are not box-ticking exercises: sample the Kochi Fed Cup and archaic selection policy for the Asian Athletics. Especially stark when compared to the organization of the Neeraj Chopra Classic.

Results: C

Neeraj doesn't count here. The Asian C'ships ought to have been better, and there may be fewer Indians in the World C'ships than last time.

Litigation: A

Free of legal distractions since PU Chitra took them to court in 2017 over her non-selection.

Public Perception: D

Again, it's a D when we put Neeraj aside. When their flagship event -- in a state that loves its athletics as much as Kerala does -- happens in front of a crowd of people one can count with both hands, that should ring alarm bells. The AFI ought to do more to reach track and field to the Indian masses.

Overall: C

There is potential -- esp in mid distance running and javelin -- but India is far off the world standard. Need to look beyond red tape and box-ticking. Piggybacking on Neeraj can only go so far.

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National Rifle Association of India (NRAI)

Admin & Governance: A+

Fulfils all basic functions required, with mandated and documented procedures in place and (fairly) transparent proceedings. There have been issues in the past, with coaching clashes at national camps and Olympic debacles, but there are signs of improvement.

Results in competition: A-

Excellent in some areas (ISSF and Asian level events) but also doesn't always match expectations when under pressure (Olympics and World Championships.) Of course, expectations are also very high given track record of success.

Litigation: A

Does get involved in some cases -- mainly over strict selection policies and top players not accepting the purely numeric merit system. But has well defined rules so the cases don't amount to much.

Public perception: A

Very good, because the results keep coming across levels and age groups.

Overall: A

Did we just describe a straight As federation in Indian sport? Now, that's an achievement. NRAI has some issues (coach roles, etc) but is mostly a well governed and no-nonsense organization.

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI)

Admin & Governance: F

Suspension revoked in March 2025, only because they finally understood the simple matter of not functioning from former chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's house (!). Consistently making last-minute decisions even after - be they selection trials or procuring visas.

Results in competition: D

Indian wrestlers missed two ranking series in 2025 due to the WFI's suspension. Promising results in junior categories undermined by harsh treatment of future stars (Neha Sangwan, U20 Worlds medallist suspended 2 yrs (!) for being 600g overweight once in international competition).

Litigation: F

Few state bodies still contesting legitimacy; Brij Bhushan Singh's sexual harassment case continues.

Public perception: F

Current President Sanjay Singh's close association with Brij Bhushan will forever taint whatever positive measures the WFI takes henceforth.

Overall: F

Shoots of hope such as Kajal Dochak and Tapasya Gahlawat becoming U20 world champions emerging despite federation ineptitude, but overall outlook remains bleak.

Paralympic Committee of India (PCI)

Admin & Governance: B-

Marked improvement since returning from suspension under new President (and para-athletics great) Devendra Jhajharia. Top-down approach means grassroots still struggle, but federation has secured sponsorships and facilities to support top athletes and host multiple international events already.

Results in competition: A+

Went from a then-record 19 medals at the Tokyo Games to an incredible 29 at Paris. One of India's best performing federations (results-wise), although much of the credit still goes to the athletes.

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Litigation: A

Federation functioning with unity, not too many naysayers.

Public perception: D

The Paralympics remain the only time para-athletes enter the national consciousness, so there's little public perception, if any. PCI has done little else in promotion outside it - hosting the Worlds could change things but there is plenty of room for improvement.

Overall: C

Aside from catering to their top athletes, have done little else at the grassroots level in terms of coaching, infrastructure and competitions. Khelo India Para Games is a step forward, although currently feels more like fulfilling an obligation.

Hockey India (HI)

Admin & Governance: B

Significant improvement over the past decade -- remember the Indian Hockey Federation and their mess? But while a proper structure is in place and the Hockey India League is back... uncomfortable questions were raised by Janneke Schopman and Elena Norman on the work environment and those remain unanswered.

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Results in competition: B+

The senior men's team has won back-to-back Olympic medals. Results need to improve, drastically, for the women's team, though.

Litigation: A

The board is not involved in messy legal cases so that's positive.

Public perception: A

The Olympic medals and the restart of Hockey India League has helped the federation.

Overall: B+

Improvements are clearly visible, but the questions raised by their former CEO and former women's coach need to be addressed.

Boxing Federation of India (BFI)

Admin & Governance: D

The federation is suspended. Incumbent Ajay Singh won a third term as president in recent elections... while he was also head of the interim committee which held power for about a year after the suspension.

Results in competition: B-

Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain have won medals at the big stage. Medals have been won at competitions like the newly minted World Cups... but is Indian boxing in danger of stagnating? Are there any Olympic-medal-level athletes coming up? Paris' empty showing was a danger sign: you need big medals at the biggest events.

Litigation: D

Fair amount of legal trouble. There's currently a case where state units are opposing changes made by the former interim committee ahead of the elections.

Public perception: C

Plenty of issues have come to the public's notice over the last few months. From the apparent power struggle for the president's chair to issues like Olympic medallist Lovlina accusing an official of disrespectful behaviour, it's not been a smooth ride.

Overall: C

The BFI has work to do to sort out various issues -- clean governance followed by results in big events. Need to focus on long-term planning to identify talent and bring them into a system which can take care of them.

Indian Olympic Association (IOA)

Admin & Governance: E

A civil war between president PT Usha's faction and vice president Kalyan Chaubey's that had been causing havoc appears to have been resolved. However, needs to be more authoritative and pro-active in management of other NSFs and ensuring welfare of athletes.

Results in competition: E

Would be ideal to focus on getting results at the Olympics -- a double-digit medal tally, perhaps -- before bidding for hosting one.

Litigation: C

Not as bad as the NSFs under them, but it is bad enough that they are in court over various admin issues.

Public perception: D

No one's entirely sure what the IOA does, and that needs addressing -- by doing, rather than PR.

Overall: D-

To quote subject matter expert Edwin Moses: "Is it just to have an event in India, or is it to really develop sports? That's going to be the big question." Best to focus on homework before going extracurricular.

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