Administrator’s Challenge Cup in jeopardy even before start

A day after the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued a notice for conducting the mandatory ossification test for all participants of the 20th Administrator’s Challenge Cup All-India Football Tournament to stop the alleged overage fraud, the Sports Department officials ran from pillar-to-post, along with the players, at the local government hospitals to follow the instructions on Wednesday evening.

As many as 17 teams have confirmed their participation in the tournament, making it a total count of 340 players (20 players in each team), who have to undergo medical tests.

Given the heavy footfall of patients at the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital, Sector 16, and Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, the process was delayed today leading to postponement of the match between Sandhu Football FC and Swami Krishnamritan and Pracharya Club, which was scheduled today at the Sector 46 complex (3.45 pm).

The department rescheduled the match for November 22 (9 am), but later issued a statement expecting delay in medical tests. “It’s hereby apprised that tomorrow’s match scheduled at 9 am stands tentative in terms of timings. The department has been informed that the medical board may take more time because of unavoidable procedural delays. Therefore, the said match may be played tomorrow itself, but after getting free from the said medical tests,” reads the statement.

While the tournament was scheduled to start today, the proceedings were delayed after an order by the high court was released on November 19 evening. In the past editions of the tournament, the teams had been inspected for age verification frauds. A medical board, including a team of doctors from the local government hospitals, conducted medical tests to approve or reject players. Every year, not only the alleged overage players, but sometimes entire teams had been debarred from this tournament for allegedly fielding overage players. On one occasion, a debarred team had challenged their outing in the high court and also got a stay in 2018-19.

“Players of around 9 to 10 teams underwent tests today and many are still there in the hospitals. Some of the players have been called again to complete the medical procedure. The teams have been informed about the same. The process of completing the tests is quite tiring for the players and coaches. Although the results are being issued immediately, some doubtful cases (players) will again undergo the process. By tomorrow afternoon, we are expecting a complete clearance,” said an official of the department.

BOX: What is ossification test?

Ossification test, also known as the epiphyseal fusion test, involves examining of X-rays of certain bones in the body, specifically the clavicle, sternum and pelvis to determine the degree of ossification. By examining the X-ray of the sternum, doctors can estimate a person's age based on the number of sternebrae that have fused and the degree of fusion.