PANAJI (GOA): At the Annual General Body Meeting (AGM) of the Goa Olympic Association held on July 22, when the issue of permanent recognition to the Goa Basketball Association (GBA) came up, the (Goa Olympic Association) G.O.A secretary general Gurudatta Bhakta was questioned as to how the G.O.A continues to grant recognition to the GBA faction headed by Milind Shankhwalkar, when the IOA has granted recognition to the other group headed by Fr Ralin De Souza.
Bhakta was also asked about the procedures that were followed for granting recognitions to sports associations and how such procedures kept changing from case to case basis. Following strong objections from the G.O.A treasurer Anil Madgaonkar, Goa Badminton Association Secretary Sandeep Heble and few others, the issue was kept in abeyance.
Now, in a significant development, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) has granted recognition to the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) headed by K. Govindraj.
Fr Ralin De Souza, president of Goa Basketball Association, and Ashely do Rosario who is the association secretary, are both in the executive committee of the BFI which has now been granted its due recognition. The BFI is thus now recognised by the international basketball association (i.e. FIBA), the Indian Olympic Association (lOA) and also the MYAS.
With the BFI Secretary General Chander Mukhi Sharma having written a letter also to the G.O.A asking them to provide the necessary support to the Goa Basketball Association headed by Fr Ralin De Souza, there is no reason or justification why the G.O.A must continue to grant recognition to the GBA faction headed by Milind Shankhwalkar.
There is only one Goa Basketball Association committee functioning in Goa which organises tournaments, deputes teams for the nationals and conducts coaching clinics and referees workshops, etc. With these recent significant developments having taken place, the G.O.A has now been asked to grant due recognition to the GBA committee headed by Fr Ralin De Souza and to derecognise the other committee with immediate effect.