Multiple controversies have engulfed the Netball event at the 38th National Games 2025 in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
As per a report in the Times of India, bronze medals were awarded to each state team in the men’s and women’s events after the playoff matches ended in a draw, disregarding the protocol of the sport.
The World Netball rule states that only one medal can be awarded to a winning state team in the 3rd-4th classification match. It doesn’t allow two winners.
The teams included in this were: Fast 5 team event (women) Punjab 23-Assam 23), Fast 5 team event (men) Jammu and Kashmir 33-Rajasthan 33, Traditional team event (men) Delhi 45-Himachal Pradesh 45, Traditional team event (women) Uttarakhand 42-Telangana 42, Mixed team event Chhattisgarh 31-Telangana 31.
The technical committee didn’t implement a two-minute shootout between the teams following the draw.
The report further states that the results were orchestrated for the benefit of certain players for the monetary benefit, which would also help them secure government jobs.
In another report in the onmanorama.com, the Kerala Olympic Association (KOA) raised allegations for match-fixing involving bribery in connection with women’s Traditional Netball competition.
KOA President V Sunil Kumar on Friday raised the issue with the Games Technical Conduct Committee (GTCC), highlighting multiple instances of bias and unfair practices, casting a shadow over the competition’s integrity’.
Olympian Sebastian Xavier, the Chef de Mission for Team Kerala, and other officials were reportedly thrown out of the venue. There was lack of camera coverage for the matches, “… that in itself, made the match vulnerable to claims of unfair practices, as there was no way to independently verify the procedure in case of any disputes,” KOA President Sunil Kumar pointed out in his complaint.
“Moreover, the competition referee’s conduct was highly questionable. There appeared to be clear favouritism toward the Uttarakhand players, with several decisions seemingly influenced by bias rather than fairness. The referee seemed to show a clear preference for the Uttarakhand team, as he waited for them to put the ball in the basket without whistling for violations or adhering to the time limit.
“We noticed that there were no authorized technical officials present at the stadium, which again raised significant doubts. We promptly reported the situation to the available officials but unfortunately, they were disregarded.”
Kerala also claimed that Uttarakhand falsely bought the gold medal.
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