Age fraud in Indian sports isn’t an accident — it’s a systemic flaw. For years, the system has incentivised dishonesty, allowing those who manipulate their age to thrive while genuine athletes are sidelined. The consequences are stark: careers derailed, junior competitions dominated by overage players, and India’s standing on the global stage undermined.
The government’s draft National Code Against Age Fraud in Sports (NCAAFS) 2025 is a step in the right direction. The policy, released for public comment by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, outlines a much-needed reform agenda. But without digital enforcement, biometric safeguards, and meaningful deterrents, it risks going the way of previous well-intentioned codes — buried under paperwork and quietly ignored.
The draft code still leans on unverifiable, easily manipulated documents — school certificates, handwritten transfers, orphanage affidavits. In a country where identity records can be forged for a few hundred rupees, that’s a non-starter.
Instead, India should leverage its digital public infrastructure — Aadhaar, DigiLocker, and verifiable QR-linked birth certificates — for age verification. Only those documents that can be digitally sourced and verified via secure APIs should be accepted. No physical storage. No photocopies. No middlemen.
Adding fingerprint-based digital verification at the point of athlete registration — similar to KYC in banking — can eliminate tampering. Machines don’t take bribes; humans do.
Data architecture
Digital systems must balance transparency with privacy. The policy must mandate compliance with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act (2023) and adopt a consent model, like the one already successful in the finance sector.
A Central Sports Data Authority—a neutral platform that allows secure, consent-driven access to athlete data — is needed. Just as the Account Aggregator framework is transforming financial data portability, a similar model in sports would ensure that athletes stay in control of their information while federations get the reliability they need.
The draft includes bans and FIRs for repeat offenders, but deterrence demands harsher institutional repercussions. That means: debarring athletes found guilty of age fraud from all government jobs, including sports quota positions in the Railways, PSUs, and paramilitary forces; mandatory biometric checks at recruitment to weed out fraudulent age claims at the hiring stage; and linking Central Government sports grants to State-level adoption of the national policy — a carrot-and-stick approach that could drive uniformity across all States.
Medical verification
The draft proposes comprehensive medical tests — TW3 bone-age analysis, dental checks, MRIs — but a smarter, phased approach would be more effective: (i) start with AI-driven hand/wrist X-rays for initial screening; (ii) escalate to dental and anthropometric checks for any outliers; and (iii) reserve MRIs only for persistent discrepancies. This approach is both more humane and more accurate — minimising false positives and ensuring only truly suspect cases go through invasive procedures.
Trying to implement these reforms across all sports at once is a recipe for chaos. Instead, launch a pilot in one sport — say hockey — and build out from there. Use this controlled roll-out to refine the system, gather feedback, and build institutional muscle.
The Ministry’s draft code is a commendable start — but policy alone won’t end age fraud. The real test lies in execution. With the scaffolding of reform now in place, India must pivot to a digital-first, data-driven system that values integrity as fiercely as victory. True champions aren’t measured by medals alone, but by the fairness of their journey. The system must finally reflect that truth.
The writer is a tech entrepreneur, and former Managing Director of CGI India