I admire Unmukt but can’t change rules, says Thampu

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:St. Stephen’s College plans to honour Unmukt Chand, who led his team to the Under-19 World Cup win, say sources. However, principal Valson Thampu says “no decision has been made yet” and that they can’t “plan” till they know when their second-year BA (Programme) student will be back.
    Ironically, Unmukt’s relationship with the college authorities has been somewhat fractious. He went to a court this year when the college refused to issue him an admit card for the final exams as he did not have the requisite attendance. It was only after a high court direction in May that he was allowed to write the exams. Thampu said that while he “admired” Unmukt’s skills as a cricketer, he was only implementing rules when it came to the attendance issue and will do so “even if he wins 10 more World Cups.”
    The Association of Old Stephanians – a group of college alumni not connected to the “official” alumni association – see the refusal to issue the admit card as a lack of support for sportsmen who have to miss classes to participate in matches and tournaments. They said in a statement that they have been “pained to note” that a court had to be involved and have urged the college and Delhi University to “take urgent and necessary steps to ensure that promising sportsmen are encouraged to perform better.”
    Thampu said that while he “admired” the “unruffled sense of purpose with which he played” and the “application of mind and talent” is what the college itself stands for, St. Stephen’s “cannot take any credit for Unmukt’s achievement.” Firstly, because he had come to the college, “already a flourishing national talent” and secondly, because “he hasn’t spent much time in the college”. It is the second point on which the college authorities and Unmukt locked horns. Thampu explained his stand saying that the university rules “do not envisage any discretionary power for the principal” and that he was “only implementing the rules”.
    He clarified that the college wants to support all sports but will not “fudge the records or falsify data”. And they will implement the rules “not only with respect to him but all sportsmen, as long as the rules stay in university’s statute books”.

Unmukt Chand