GFI, in various letters, asked each player to deposit more than Rs 1 lakh for the pre-event camp, lodging, boarding, and even playing kits. More than Rs 1.2 crore was collected from gymnasts, but the federation says it has kept no account.

Navneet Singh

Indian gymnasts who competed at the 14th Acrobatic Gymnastics Asian Championships in Goa last year, organised by the Gymnastics Federation of India, have alleged financial irregularities after being asked to deposit more than Rs 1 lakh each into third-party accounts for the event. The GFI elections are due and fighting a legal battle in the court.  

The continental championships were held in Mapusa, Goa, from October 31 to November 2, 2025. The GFI fielded an Indian contingent of more than 100 gymnasts. Each of them was asked to pay roughly Rs 1,19,000 for lodging, boarding, training, and even playing kits. The players were told to deposit the amount into a third-party account, according to gymnasts who were part of the Indian contingent. 

However, the GFI now says it doesn’t have details of the account into which the gymnasts deposited the amount.

The gymnasts, who have also lodged a complaint with the SAI on the issue, say they have been paying money to the GFI for training camps and overseas competitions, and they were charged almost the same amount as they were for the 2023 Asian meet held overseas.

“The GFI charged roughly Rs 1.2 lakh to compete at the 2023 Asian meet on foreign soil,” one of the players told Sportsbackstory.com. “We thought we would have to pay a lesser amount for just one camp for the Asian meet in Goa. However, that was not the case, and we ended up paying almost the same amount,” the gymnast said.

The Asian meet was allotted to the GFI, and all correspondence related to the event was done by the GFI. The GFI also received a financial grant from the Government of Goa for the conduct of the Asian meet.

Documents with Sportsbackstory.com reveal that the GFI directed players selected for the 14th Acrobatic Gymnastics Asian Championships to pay roughly Rs 1,19,000 in instalments into third-party accounts. “We were given a QR code to deposit the amount for the camp and participation in the Asian meet in Goa,” one of the players selected for the Indian team told Sportsbackstory.com.

Sudhir Mittal, a retired bureaucrat and president of the GFI, said the federation did not take any money from the players to compete at the Asian Championships and had no details of the accounts into which the money was deposited.

“I have not mentioned in the letter that players should pay money to the GFI to compete in the Acrobatic Asian Championships in Goa,” Mittal told Sportsbackstory.com over the phone.

“Since the GFI didn’t take money from the players, the federation didn’t keep any accounts.”

But a letter signed by Mittal, dated September 28, 2025, says all participants attending the camp are required to pay a camp fee of Rs 35,000 at the venue upon reporting.

“This fee covers expenses for lodging, boarding, and training during the camp,” the letter said.

“The participation in this camp will be at the cost of the respective state associations/gymnasts, who may, in turn, explore sponsorship opportunities to meet the participation expenses,” the letter stated.

In another letter, signed by C Prabhakar, the GFI president-in-charge, players were asked to pay Rs 66,000 for a training camp, including the playing kit.

There was a written complaint last year to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Sports Ministry. “It seems no action has been taken so far against the officials involved in the financial manipulation,” said a national-level coach.

State units do not financially support the players, according to one of the gymnasts. “Generally, players make their own arrangements to compete in international acrobatic meets,” the gymnast said.

For financial transparency, a national-level coach said the federation should direct the players to deposit the amount into the official account of the GFI rather than through a third-party account.

According to Mittal, the Acrobatic Technical Committee, headed by Sumith MR, was responsible for conducting the event and maintaining the accounts of the Asian meet in Goa.

On the other hand, Sumith confirmed that money was taken from players but denied any wrongdoing, saying the amount collected from the players was paid directly to the vendors. “The technical committee didn’t earn any profit from the Asian meet,” Sumith told Sportsbackstory.com over the phone from Goa.

Acrobatic gymnastics is a non-Olympic discipline, but players winning medals at international meets do get jobs through the sports quota in state departments, which allegedly gives room for financial manipulation.

Kaushik Bediwala, the treasurer of the GFI, didn’t respond to calls. Through a text message, he denied the allegations of any financial wrongdoing, saying, “This is wrong.”

EOM