A Dream Turned Nightmare: Athletes Allege Gross Malpractice at AIU Mallakhamb Championship 2025
Athletes allege scores were inflated to push the host university into the Top 8 for Khelo India, as protests were met with bouncers.
Just days ago, we were celebrating the victors of the All India Inter-University Mallakhamb Championship 2025-26 in Chennai. Couple days ago, we published the results, highlighting the incredible skill and dedication of athletes from across the country.
But behind those official podium pictures, a deeply troubling story has emerged—a story of protest, alleged injustice, and the unified voices of over 150 student-athletes from 60 universities demanding to be heard.
The event, held from October 24th to 27th at the Vinayaka Mission University near Mahabalipuram, was meant to be a celebration. Instead, it has become a flashpoint for what happens when the very spirit of fair play is called into question.
The Flashpoint: A Prize Ceremony in Chaos
To understand the chaos, you must first understand the stakes: a spot in the Khelo India University Games (KIUG).
Only the top eight teams from this championship qualify. This year, the fight for that coveted eighth spot is at the heart of the scandal.
This year's event featured a welcome advancement: a large digital screen to display every athlete's points. It was a great step for transparency... until, as athletes allege, it wasn't.
The allegation is as simple as it is shocking: athletes from the host institution, Vinayaka Mission University, were allegedly awarded "ghost points"—extra points that were never displayed on the screen for all to see, but were quietly added to the final tally.
Why? The protesting athletes are unanimous: it was a blatant attempt to sneak the host team into the top 8.
The victim of this alleged manipulation? Shivaji University from Kolhapur, Maharashtra. They were sitting in 8th place, on the verge of qualifying for KIUG, until the final tally mysteriously pushed them to 9th, making way for the host university.
As athletes watched in disbelief, they realized that a team that "shouldn't have been anywhere near the top 8" was about to be given a golden ticket to the Khelo India University Games. The sense of injustice was immediate and overwhelming.
From Athletes to Protestors
The scene quickly devolved from a celebration of sport to a tense standoff. This wasn't a quiet complaint. A large number of visiting athletes raised their voices in unison. Slogans echoed through the venue as a massive protest erupted, with participants alleging blatant "malpractice" and a "scam" orchestrated to favor the home team.
They weren't just protesting a bad score. They were protesting an alleged injustice that rendered their months of grueling training, their financial investment to travel, and their hard-fought performances utterly meaningless.
The Response: Bouncers for Athletes?
In a deeply disturbing turn of events, the university's response to these serious allegations was not dialogue, but force.
Instead of officials addressing the concerns of the visiting universities, the university's private security and bouncers were reportedly called in. As seen in video footage now circulating widely, the student-athletes—the very guests the university was meant to be hosting—were allegedly forcibly removed from the premises for daring to question the results.
The atmosphere turned tense and ugly, an indefensible end to what should have been a landmark national championship.
Who Is Accountable?
A "scam" of this nature, as alleged by the protestors, isn't a one-person job. It requires a coordinated effort, which leads to the uncomfortable questions athletes are now asking: Who is responsible?
Was it a university-level decision to inflate scores? Was the man handling the whole tournament, Dr. S. Ramchandran, aware of or involved in these discrepancies?
Or did the issue stem from the judging? Protestors have pointed to the "unbelievable" scores given to the hosts, asking if the Rope Mallakhamb Chief Judge, Mr. Nakul Choksi, approved the very high scores that were visibly not up to the mark.
These are serious questions that demand a formal investigation.
The Fight Isn't Over: A Demand for Intervention
This isn't the first time such malpractices have happened, but this surely is the first time someone has decided to take such a strong public stand. And as true Mallakhambists, we support the ones who are trying to preserve the beauty of the game.
The protesting players and their coaches are formally demanding that the Sports Ministry of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu intervene. They are calling for a full and immediate investigation into the alleged misconduct by Vinayaka Mission University and for appropriate action to be taken against those responsible.
This is no longer about the results from Chennai. This is about the integrity of Mallakhamb. It's about the trust of every athlete who steps onto the mat. The Mallakhamb community is watching, and we stand with the athletes in demanding transparency and a fair investigation.
We deserve answers.
-Mallakhambist
