The Overseas Indian representation in Indian sports refers to the participation of foreign nationals of Indian origin in international events of both senior and junior level representing the Republic of India. As India prohibits dual nationality, sports representation in international events with respect to Indian participation has generally followed the norm of selection of sportspeople of Indian nationality.
Despite this due to the ambiguity of representation law till 2008, many Overseas Indian sportspeople have represented India at international events. While individual sports such as tennis, figure skating etc, dominate Overseas Indian sportspeople representation, rugby union remains the only major team sport with Overseas Indian players,[1][2][3] until 2008 when the Overseas Indians were disqualified from representing India.
History
In India however, the National sports representation law stems from a circular issued by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in December 2008, wherein it directed all national sports federations that any sportsperson representing India at the international level must hold a valid Indian passport.[4] The rule was upheld in 2010 by the Delhi High Court in the Karm Kumar vs Union Of India and Ors.[5]
The Indian law, with respect to the eligibility of Overseas Indians representing India stands at odds with the eligibility criteria for national representation of any sports governing bodies since 2008 when the current regulations were enforced and Overseas Indian representation was abolished. Before 2008 order and 2011 enactment of National Sports Code, due to ambiguity and lack of any sports law in the country with respect to player representation in international events, many Overseas Indian sportspeople had represented India in certain sports such as tennis, winter sports, swimming, etc.[6][7]
Overseas Indian sportspeople representing India
This is a list of Overseas Indian sportspeople (both men and women) who have represented or are currently representing India in any sport at international level.
- Players of Indian origin, who represented India while retaining their original nationality.
- Players of Indian origin, who represented India while or after giving up their original nationality and taking up Indian citizenship.
Note:
- Representation after 2008: Despite the 2008 rule change, a handful of Overseas Indians continued to represent India in certain individual sports such as tennis, winter sports, badminton etc., but this continued without Indian sports federations' support and also international rules for national representation remained unchanged. But while they represented India on an individual capacity at the international events, due to the withdrawal of the Indian sports federations' administrative and financial support,[8] they remained ineligible to represent India at multi-sport events such as Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games.
- Dual citizenship for minors: Dual citizenship in India is allowed in certain cases of minor children, as those who are born outside the territory of India can obtain Indian citizenship through descent (by Section 4 of The Citizenship Act, 1955) as well as of the foreign country (by Jus soli, e.g. United States). Thus the minors in such cases can remain dual citizens till 18 upon which they will have to choose only one citizenship.[9] This has enabled some minor Overseas Indians to represent India post 2008, but will become ineligible if they choose the foreign citizenship upon attaining majority.
- Status of Unrecognised sports: Certain major sports such as Mixed martial arts (MMA) have not been recognised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (India) as a sport in India, which are instead held as events. The Indian MMA federations do not form a part of the National Sports Federations and thus they are not covered under the National Sports Code 2011. Thus the Overseas Indian fighters can represent India as individual representatives at professional MMA fights as they do not come under the purview of any sports federation.[10]
- Color key
Team sports
Cricket
Sportsperson | Nationality | Years | Notable events | Ref |
Lall Singh | Malaysia | 1932 | | [11] |
Robin Singh | Trinidad and Tobago | 1989–2001 | Cricket World Cup | [12] |
Sportsperson | Nationality | Years | Notable events | Ref |
Balai Dey | Pakistan | 1969–1970 | Merdeka Tournament | [13] |
Arata Izumi | Japan | 2013–2014 | AFC Challenge Cup, SAFF Championship | [14] |
Sunny Dhaliwal | Canada | 2017 | FIFA U-17 World Cup | [15] |
Field hockey
Sportsperson | Nationality | Years | Notable events | Ref |
Trevor Fernandes | Tanzania | 1971–1973 | | [16] |
Rugby union
Sportsperson | Nationality | Years | Notable events | Ref |
Manmandir Singh Samra | United Kingdom | 2004–2006 | | [17][1] |
Simon Patel Knowles | United Kingdom | 2004–2006 | | [1] |
Amarveer Singh Ladhar | United Kingdom | 2004–2006 | | [1] |
Ajay Sabharwal | United Kingdom | 2004–2006 | | [1] |
Individual sports
Boxing
Tennis
Squash
Swimming
Shooting
Sportsperson | Nationality | Years | Notable events | Ref |
Sohrab Singh Gill | United States | 2007 | Asian Championships | [39] |
Chess
Sportsperson | Nationality | Years | Notable events | Ref |
Akshat Chandra | United States | 2009–2012 | | [40][41] |
Tarun Kanyamarala | Ireland | 2014–2017 | | [42][43] |
Trisha Kanyamarala | Ireland | 2014–2017 | | [44][43] |
Amaya Agarwal | England | 2022–2023 | | [45][46] |
Anay Agarwal | England | 2022–2023 | | [47][46] |
Badminton
Sportsperson | Nationality | Years | Notable events | Ref |
Srivedya Gurazada | United States | 2019–2022 | | [48][49] |
Skiing
Sportsperson | Nationality | Years | Notable events | Ref |
Leona Dogra | Switzerland | 2019 | | [50][51] |
Other sports
Mixed martial arts (Pro MMA)
Sportsperson | Nationality | Years | Notable events | Ref |
Arjan Bhullar | Canada | 2017– | UFC, ONE FC | [52][53] |
Gurdarshan Mangat | Canada | 2019– | ONE FC | [54] |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "Rugby stars flying the flag". Asian Image. 27 May 2006. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ "India look to foreign legion to inspire their first victory". South China Morning Post. 27 October 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ "Experienced players to spearhead Indian rugby attack". oneindia.com. 2 June 2006. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ a b "A fight for the right to play for India". Hindustan Times. 23 December 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Karm Kumar vs Union Of India & Ors on 3 August, 2010". Indian Kanoon. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ "Government slams door on Overseas Indian, OCI players". The Times of India. 26 December 2008. Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Government slams door on Overseas Indian, OCI players". India Today. 26 December 2008.
- ^ "Confusion reigns over Overseas Indian sportspersons". Hindustan Times. 2 June 2009.
- ^ "Passport_Manual_16_Chapters_to_be_disclosed" (PDF). Passport_Manual_16_Chapters_to_be_disclosed. 27 November 2023.
- ^ "Legality of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) In India". Global Sports Policy Review. 22 June 2022.
- ^ "Lall Singh". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ "Robin Singh". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 22 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ Basu, Jaydeep (13 August 2022). "Indian Football: Balai Dey, the Mohun Bagan legend who played for both India and Pakistan". scroll.in. Scroll. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ^ NDTV, Indo-Asian News Service (29 January 2013). "Arata Izumi becomes first foreign national to be selected for Indian football team". sports.ndtv.com. NDTV Sport. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ^ Tiwari, Pragya (2 October 2017). "Hoping for some Sunny time in goal". deccanherald.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ Mergulhao, Marcus (4 October 2021). "Trevor Fernandes: The hockey star from Zanzibar who won many Indian hearts". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ "Internationals". moseleyrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ "Indian boxer passes away". The Telegraph. 10 February 2005. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ "Prakash Amritraj". ATP. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
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- ^ "Sunitha Rao". WTA. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Interview with Kanika Vaidya". Indian Tennis Daily. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
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- ^ "Vihaan Reddy". wimbledon.com. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ "Vihaan Reddy". ITF. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ "Ami Parekh". ISU. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Amar Mehta". ISU. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Yoniko Eva Washington". ISU. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Anavi Tekriwal". ISU. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Shreya Saha Dalal". ISU. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Arunima Verabelli". ISU. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Tara Prasad". ISU. Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Swimmer Poseria requests govt to reconsider Overseas Indian policy". The Times of India. 30 December 2008.
- ^ "Sorab Singh Gill". ISSF. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Chandra, Akshat". ratings.fide.com. FIDE. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ "FE SERVER24CHESS". ratings.fide.com. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ "Kanyamarala, Tarun". ratings.fide.com. FIDE. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ a b "HYDERABAD OPEN ALL INDIA FIDE RATING". ratings.fide.com. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "Kanyamarala, Trisha". ratings.fide.com. FIDE. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "Agarwal, Amaya". ratings.fide.com. FIDE. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ a b "6TH CREWE CHESS CONGRESS - FIDE OPEN". ratings.fide.com. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "Agarwal, Anay". ratings.fide.com. FIDE. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "Srivedya Gurazada". BWF. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "From Boston to Hyderabad to back in the US: Srivedya leaves India in quest for Olympics". Hindustan Times. 2023-01-20. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
- ^ "Leona Dogra". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ "FIS - SLOPESTYLE". sess.lobadi.de. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ "Arjan Singh Bhullar". UFC. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ "Arjan Singh Bhullar". ONE FC. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ "Gurdarshan Mangat". ONE FC. Retrieved 17 March 2024.