Carrying tri-colour in rucksack not enough: Gill

Amlan Chakraborty
New Delhi, Feb 20 (PTI) Merely carrying the tri-colour in rucksack won't do, asserted Sports Minister MS Gill today while reiterating that only Indian passport holders would be allowed to represent the country in international events.

"It's no use if you carry the Indian flag in your rucksack. All you need to represent the country is an Indian passport in your hand and no other," Gill told PTI.

"Only Indian passport holders would play for the country and India doesn't allow a second passport. So, if a player doesn't have an Indian passport, he or she cannot play for the country," the Minister added.

The Sports Ministry recently came out with the new policy that slams the door on the tennis trio of Prakash Amritraj, Shikha Uberoi and Sunitha Rao all US citizens and Gill said it is perfectly in accordance with the International Tennis Federation rules.

"I want the country to know that this is not a new policy made by the government. This is only a correct and honest application of the law. We have checked the ITF regulations and only then laid down the same here, which was not being followed earlier. I think the new policy is going to benefit the youth of the country," Gill said. PTI