PT Usha was on Saturday elected as the first woman president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The 58-year-old Usha, a multiple Asian Games gold medallist and fourth place finisher in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics 400m hurdles final, was declared elected unopposed for the top post in the polls.
The elections were held under the supervision of Supreme Court-appointed retired SC judge L Nageswara Rao.
The election of Usha to the post came as the IOA was warned of a possible suspension by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) if elections were not held this month. The polls were originally due to be held in December 2021.
Usha's victory was a forgone conclusion late last month after she emerged as the lone candidate for the top post. There were no competitors for Usha, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in July.
The 58-year-old became the first Olympian and first international medallist to head the IOA in its 95-year-old history. Usha is the first sportsperson to have represented the country and also become the IOA chief since Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, who played a Test match in 1934. Singh was the third IOA president who held office from 1938 to 1960.
Ajay Patel of National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) was elected unopposed as senior vice-president. Olympic medallist shooter Gagan Narang and Rowing Federation of India president Rajlaxmi Singh Deo were also elected unopposed as vice presidents.
Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) president Sahdev Yadav was elected the treasurer. All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey was elected unopposed as the joint secretary (male).
Alaknanda Ashok of Badminton Association of India (BAI) was elected as joint secretary (female) after emerging the winner in a three-way battle. Shalini Thakur Chawla and Suman Kaushik were also in the fray.
Olympic medallist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and archer Dola Banerjee are in the executive council as male and female representatives of the eight Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOM). Bhupender Singh Bajwa, Amitabh Sharma, Harpal Singh and Rohit Rajpal have also been elected on the executive council, which is substantially different from the earlier ones.
At least five of the 14 executive council members are former sports persons, which is unprecedented in IOA history. Legendary boxer MC Mary Kom and table tennis great Achanta Sharath Kamal are also part of the excutive council by virtue of being president and vice president of the Athletes Commission.