Bone test exposes age fraud: Kottayam's UP athlete disqualified from Kerala school sports meet

Kozhikode: A student of the Koruthode CKM Higher Secondary School in Kottayam district, who won the sub-junior boys’ 400m race at the Kerala State School Sports Meet, has been disqualified after a bone test revealed him to be older than the age limit for the category.

The age discrepancy came to light following complaints from three other schools. An X-ray examination of the student’s hand revealed that he was above 15 years old, despite his Aadhaar records indicating that he was 12.

Following the findings, the student has also been barred from competing in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay events at the state meet.

The student, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, had faced allegations of age fraud during the Kottayam revenue district school sports meet earlier this month. Athletes had raised concerns with the authorities over his age, alleging discrepancies in his date of birth. It was also claimed that he possessed two Aadhaar cards bearing different dates of birth. The authorities had then said they would examine his documents and take appropriate action. After checking his date-of-birth details, they found him eligible to compete.

At the district-level meet, the student won gold medals in the sub-junior boys’ 100m, 200m and 400m races, earning qualification for the state-level competition.

However, the issue resurfaced at the ongoing state meet after school authorities in Ernakulam raised fresh complaints about his age. Education Minister N Shamsudheen intervened following the complaints, and a scientific examination was ordered to establish the student’s age.

The bone test subsequently revealed that the student was above the prescribed age limit for the sub-junior category, leading to his disqualification.