Mendonca finishes second in Serbian
Unable to return to country due to travel restrictions, India's young International Master Leon Luke Mendonca is making best use of his time finishing runnerup at the Paracin Open in Serbia.
The 14-year old Goa player (ELO rating 2470) finished with seven points from nine rounds. He has been stuck in Hungary for nearly three months with his father Lyndon after being denied boarding pass as India was in lockdown due COVID19 outbreak.
Mendonca has been playing in events and won the Balaton Chess festival in Budapest in June and finished second at the Paracin Open on Thursday.
He was happy with his performance at the Paracin Open and said he was unlucky to miss out on a GM norm by a whisker.
"I am happy with my performance in the tournament. I missed a GM norm by a whisker as I needed to play a 2340+ opponent in the last round," he told PTI from Serbia.
The young IM remained unbeaten in the Paracin Open and finished with five wins to seal second place. He said the tournament saw players undergo thermal checks and were provided hand sanitizer before entering the playing arena and wore masks while seated at the board, adding this seemed to be the new normal in the world hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
Hockey India (HI) president Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad has resigned from his position citing personal commitments, a development that was expected after the Sports Ministry asked him to quit, declaring his election violative of the national sports code's tenure guidelines.
HI Executive Board named Manipur's Gyanendro Nigombam, who was senior vice president in the federation, as the officiating president in Ahmad's place.
"Hockey India Executive Board held an emergency meeting today and named Manipur's Gyannendro Nigombam as the officiating president of Hockey India," the national body said in a press release.
"This was following the resignation letter of Mod Mushtaque Ahmad received by Hockey India on July 7 which cited personal and family commitments as the reasons.
"In the meeting convened today, the resignation of Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad was accepted."
The Sports Ministry had found that Ahmad had violated the tenure cap guidelines of the code in the 2018 elections, when he took charge of the President's position.
In a July 6 letter addressed to HI secretary general Rajinder Singh, the ministry asked the federation ' to conduct fresh election for the post of president' by September 30 for the term, that 30.09.2022....
"...the matter has been examined...and it has been observed that Mushtaque Ahmad had earlier served as treasurer in Hockey India from 2010-2014 and secretary general from 2014-2018. The instant term 2018-2022 of Mushtaque as president is his third consecutive term as officebearer in HI," the letter said.
"Thus his election as president of HI is not in consonance with the government guidelines limiting age and tenure of office-bearers of National Sports Federations," it added.
Under the Sports Code (of 2011), office-bearers of an NSF can have only two consecutive terms of four years each.
But after later amendments, a president can hold office for three terms.
The election of Ahmad as HI president in 2018 has been remaining is, upto a matter of controversy between the NSF and the ministry.
In an RTI reply, it was revealed that the sports ministry, in 2019, had held Ahmad's election as HI president on October 1, 2018 violative of the Sports Code as he had served as an office-bearer for two terms.
In a letter on February 13, 2019, the ministry asked Ahmad to demit office immediately and told the HI to hold elections for president's post.
In response to this (on February 23, 2019), HI contended that the revised age and tenure guidelines were issued on May 1, 2010 and cannot be applied retrospectively.
HI was not a recognised federation in 2010. It got recognition on February 28, 2014 and at that point in time, Ahmad was serving as a treasurer, having been elected to the post in elections held on August 5, 2010.