NAAA, which was dissolved by the National Sports Council (NSC) but continues to be recognized by international sports bodies, announced a selection tournament on Saturday for the two international events.[break]
However, NSC Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama claimed that NAAA has no right to select the players and the government authority would take action against the players and coaches if anyone took part in the selection tournament.
According to Rabi Rajkarnikar, general secretary of NAAA, the Asian Athletics Championship will be held in Chennai, India from July 1 to 7 while the IAAF World Championship will be held in Moscow from August 10 to 18.
NSC had dissolved the NAAA led by Rajkarnikar two years ago and formed a separate NAAA body led by Nilendra Raj Shrestha. The Shrestha-led NAAA had organized the 38th National Athletics Championship earlier this month.
"The association recognized by NSC has been organizing tournaments all year round. In such a scenario, we cannot tolerate an unauthorized body coming forward and organizing a selection tournament," said Member Secretary Lama.
Lama said that if Rajkarnikar is ready to send champions of the recently-concluded tournament organized by the Shrestha-led NAAA, NSC will not bar them.
On the other hand, Rajkarnikar claimed that his committee seek permission from NSC before the tournament. "Our committee thinks that players should not suffer because of the dispute within the association and I hope NSC grants us permission to conduct the selection tournament," said Rajkarnikar.
"We have yet to decide our next step if NSC doesn´t grant us permission," he added.
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