Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI; In a significant development, the Supreme Court of India has issued a notice to the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) following a plea by a female weightlifting candidate.
The petitioner accused the selection process for the post of weightlifting coach of bias, claiming discrimination by her former coach, against whom she had filed a harassment complaint.
The bench, comprising Justices Pankaj Mithal and KV Viswanathan, also stayed the operation of the Bombay High Court’s order, which had permitted the selection process to proceed as scheduled.
This order had effectively allowed the Goa government’s directive to be overridden, which had recommended re-conducting the tests after allegations of bias surfaced.
The woman, represented by Advocate Salvador Santosh Rebello, argued that during one of the selection tests, her former coach—who had allegedly harassed her during training—was serving as one of the examiners.
In her plea, she emphasized that the Goa government had initially acknowledged the issue and decided to re-conduct the test, but this decision was later annulled by the High Court, which ruled that the original selection process should continue, including the final written test.
The recruitment process for the post of weightlifting coach, which was announced in February 2024, included three stages: a physical fitness test, a practical skill test, and a written examination.
The controversy arose when the petitioner discovered that one of the examiners was not certified in weightlifting, but had experience only in Tug of War and bodybuilding coaching.
The candidate argued that the examiner’s qualifications were not only lacking but that this individual, who was also her former coach, had subjected her to mental harassment during training, ultimately leading to her suspension for a year.
She further claimed that, despite performing exceptionally well in the skill test, she was unfairly awarded only 17.5% of the marks, which was well below the qualifying threshold.
According to the petitioner, this score was a deliberate attempt to undermine her performance, reflecting personal animosity rather than an objective evaluation of her skills.
