Over 500 Wrestlers Disqualified from India's Under-17 Championships for Age Fraud

No fewer than 500 wrestlers were disqualified from India’s under-17 championships for age fraud in June, highlighting a scourge experts believe ⁠is baked into the country’s sporting culture and ⁠needs to be combated in the same way as doping.

The exclusions at ⁠the Gonda meet were the latest in a string of age-fraud cases and came less than a year after some 20 teams were expelled from India’s top schools football tournament, the Subroto Cup, for fielding over-aged players.

“It is endemic,” leading sports lawyer Aahna Mehrotra, who has written a paper on the subject, said.

“Age fraud runs across most disciplines that have age-group competition, and it is at its worst at the sub-junior and junior levels, where the rewards are highest and the ‌scrutiny is lowest.”

India’s chaotic system of birth registration and the absence of a single digital database for athletes have long left the door open for unscrupulous parents and coaches to exploit.

For those who have a couple of years shaved off their actual age, the potential rewards can be great. The unfair advantage of extra years of growth can lead to scholarships, sponsorships and fame.