Editorial: Game of factoring age
However, stories like young Vaibhav are a rarity in Indian sport. The more common phenomenon is of older sportsmen faking it to compete in a younger age group to gain an unfair advantage.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi
NEW DELHI: IPL this year has produced the sweet story of 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who wowed spectators with his audacious batting last week. Precocious talent is always charming because it promises us the next Tendulkar. However, stories like young Vaibhav are a rarity in Indian sport. The more common phenomenon is of older sportsmen faking it to compete in a younger age group to gain an unfair advantage.
It was former cricketer Rahul Dravid who drew attention to this seamy side of sport in his Pataudi Memorial Lecture in Kolkata back in 2015. “I think of this overage business as dangerous and even toxic. If a child sees his parents and coaches creating a fake birth certificate, will he not be encouraged to become a cheat? At 14, it may be false age; at 25 it may be fixing and corruption. How are the two different? In both cases, is it not blatant cheating?”
Of course it is, and we have seen several cases of age fraud in Indian sport in recent years. Manjot Kalra, the star of India’s 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup triumph, was found to be at least a year older than his official age. Numerous complaints of age fraud are routinely found in national tournaments like the Khelo India Youth Games. At the 2020 Khelo India Youth Games, over 50 athletes were disqualified after age verification tests revealed discrepancies, with some states like Haryana and Punjab facing mass disqualifications. In 2019, top junior athletes were among 41 who failed the age test at the 16th National Youth Athletics Championships in Raipur.
Of course, age fraud is not limited to India. It is prevalent internationally as well. Several players from academies run by Premier League clubs Manchester United and Manchester City were detected to be overage when fielded in age-restricted tournaments. Back in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, several members of China’s gymnastics team were below the age limit of 16.
What allows age fraud to run rampant in India is the combination of opportunity and incentive. It is notoriously easy to procure dodgy documentation in India, including birth certificates. Coaches take a lenient view of athletes lying about their age and sports association often look the other way. Then there are significant incentives tied to age-group competitions. Winners at the Khelo India Games for instance receive scholarships worth up to Rs 5 lakh over eight years. Many states offer government jobs or educational reservations for medal-winning athletes under 18.
It is welcome therefore that the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports drafted a National Code Against Age Fraud in Sports (NCAAFS) 2025 last month. It makes the entire sports ecosystem, comprising athletes, coaches, officials, sports federations, the Sports Authority of India, and its affiliated bodies responsible for cracking down on it.
It makes age verification mandatory and requires submission of Aadhaar-linked birth certificates, school records, and government IDs. Doubtful cases will be subjected to medical testing including dental checks and TW3 bone-age X-rays, which is a good start although the tests may sometimes yield inconclusive results. Athletes cop a two-year ban and forfeiture of medals/titles for a first violation, and a permanent ban and prosecution for a second.
This is the sports ministry’s first systemic response to a pervasive problem, and it promises to do a lot for the fairness of our competitions. IPL this year has produced the sweet story of 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who wowed spectators with his audacious batting last week. Precocious talent is always charming because it promises us the next Tendulkar. However, stories like young Vaibhav are a rarity in Indian sport. The more common phenomenon is of older sportsmen faking it to compete in a younger age group to gain an unfair advantage.
It was former cricketer Rahul Dravid who drew attention to this seamy side of sport in his Pataudi Memorial Lecture in Kolkata back in 2015. “I think of this overage business as dangerous and even toxic. If a child sees his parents and coaches creating a fake birth certificate, will he not be encouraged to become a cheat? At 14, it may be false age; at 25 it may be fixing and corruption. How are the two different? In both cases, is it not blatant cheating?”
Of course it is, and we have seen several cases of age fraud in Indian sport in recent years. Manjot Kalra, the star of India’s 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup triumph, was found to be at least a year older than his official age. Numerous complaints of age fraud are routinely found in national tournaments like the Khelo India Youth Games. At the 2020 Khelo India Youth Games, over 50 athletes were disqualified after age verification tests revealed discrepancies, with some states like Haryana and Punjab facing mass disqualifications. In 2019, top junior athletes were among 41 who failed the age test at the 16th National Youth Athletics Championships in Raipur.
Of course, age fraud is not limited to India. It is prevalent internationally as well. Several players from academies run by Premier League clubs Manchester United and Manchester City were detected to be overage when fielded in age-restricted tournaments. Back in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, several members of China’s gymnastics team were below the age limit of 16.
What allows age fraud to run rampant in India is the combination of opportunity and incentive. It is notoriously easy to procure dodgy documentation in India, including birth certificates. Coaches take a lenient view of athletes lying about their age and sports association often look the other way. Then there are significant incentives tied to age-group competitions. Winners at the Khelo India Games for instance receive scholarships worth up to Rs 5 lakh over eight years. Many states offer government jobs or educational reservations for medal-winning athletes under 18.
It is welcome therefore that the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports drafted a National Code Against Age Fraud in Sports (NCAAFS) 2025 last month. It makes the entire sports ecosystem, comprising athletes, coaches, officials, sports federations, the Sports Authority of India, and its affiliated bodies responsible for cracking down on it.
It makes age verification mandatory and requires submission of Aadhaar-linked birth certificates, school records, and government IDs. Doubtful cases will be subjected to medical testing including dental checks and TW3 bone-age X-rays, which is a good start although the tests may sometimes yield inconclusive results. Athletes cop a two-year ban and forfeiture of medals/titles for a first violation, and a permanent ban and prosecution for a second.
This is the sports ministry’s first systemic response to a pervasive problem, and it promises to do a lot for the fairness of our competitions.
