NEW DELHI: Legendary sprinter PT Usha preparing to become the first female president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in the 95-year history of the athletic body.
Usha will also be the first Olympic athlete and international medalist to head the national Olympic committee, which will vote on December 10.
The 58-year-old multiple Asian Games gold medalist emerged as the only candidate to submit a nomination for the IOA presidency. return officer Umesh Sinha did not receive any nominations in the first two days of filing on Friday and Saturday, but 24 candidates applied for various official posts on Sunday.
TOI reported on Sunday that Usha will submit a nomination for the top spot of the IOA. Usha, who will be elected without a candidate, is also one of eight ‘Outstanding Athletes’ (SOMs) selected by the IOA’s Committee of Athletes headed by MC Mary Kom.
Usha, who missed the bronze medal by a hundredth of a second at the Los Angeles Olympics, finished fourth, having been congratulated on twitter by several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politicians for the no-deal election. her players, including the former sports federation and the current law minister Kiren Rijiju, wrote: “Congratulations to the legendary Golden Girl, Smt. PT Usha on being elected president of the Indian Olympic Association. I also congratulate all the sports heroes of our country who have become. the bearers of the prestigious IOA! The nation is proud of them”. Usha was nominated for Rajya Sabha by BJP in July this year.
Affectionately known as the ‘Payyoli Express’, Usha will be the first sportsperson to compete for the country at the highest level and also become the head of the IOA since Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, who featured in a Test cricket match in 1934. Usha retired in 2000 after dominating Indian and Asian athletics for nearly two decades.
She won 11 Asian Games medals including 4 golds in a single edition at the 1986 Seoul meeting, while also winning an astounding 23 medals, including 14 gold medal, at the Asian Championships from 1983 to 1998.
Speaking of other IOA positions, Ajay Patel, chairman of Gujarat State Cooperative Bank and Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank, will be elected as senior vice president, being the only candidate for this position. . He is the president of the Gujarat State Rifle Association.
Similarly, the president of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF), Sahdev Yadav, will be elected as the new treasurer of the IOA, with All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey as the male general secretary.
There will be a competition for the position of sole female general secretary between Alaknanda Ashok, Shalini Thakur Chawla and Suman Kaushik. London Olympics bronze medal shooter Gagan Narang, one of the SOMs, is the only candidate for the position of male vice president. Two candidates, Rajlaxmi Singh Deo and Alaknanda Ashok, have submitted nominations for the position of (female) ice president.
Usha will also be the first Olympic athlete and international medalist to head the national Olympic committee, which will vote on December 10.
The 58-year-old multiple Asian Games gold medalist emerged as the only candidate to submit a nomination for the IOA presidency. return officer Umesh Sinha did not receive any nominations in the first two days of filing on Friday and Saturday, but 24 candidates applied for various official posts on Sunday.
TOI reported on Sunday that Usha will submit a nomination for the top spot of the IOA. Usha, who will be elected without a candidate, is also one of eight ‘Outstanding Athletes’ (SOMs) selected by the IOA’s Committee of Athletes headed by MC Mary Kom.
Usha, who missed the bronze medal by a hundredth of a second at the Los Angeles Olympics, finished fourth, having been congratulated on twitter by several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politicians for the no-deal election. her players, including the former sports federation and the current law minister Kiren Rijiju, wrote: “Congratulations to the legendary Golden Girl, Smt. PT Usha on being elected president of the Indian Olympic Association. I also congratulate all the sports heroes of our country who have become. the bearers of the prestigious IOA! The nation is proud of them”. Usha was nominated for Rajya Sabha by BJP in July this year.
Affectionately known as the ‘Payyoli Express’, Usha will be the first sportsperson to compete for the country at the highest level and also become the head of the IOA since Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, who featured in a Test cricket match in 1934. Usha retired in 2000 after dominating Indian and Asian athletics for nearly two decades.
She won 11 Asian Games medals including 4 golds in a single edition at the 1986 Seoul meeting, while also winning an astounding 23 medals, including 14 gold medal, at the Asian Championships from 1983 to 1998.
Speaking of other IOA positions, Ajay Patel, chairman of Gujarat State Cooperative Bank and Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank, will be elected as senior vice president, being the only candidate for this position. . He is the president of the Gujarat State Rifle Association.
Similarly, the president of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF), Sahdev Yadav, will be elected as the new treasurer of the IOA, with All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey as the male general secretary.
There will be a competition for the position of sole female general secretary between Alaknanda Ashok, Shalini Thakur Chawla and Suman Kaushik. London Olympics bronze medal shooter Gagan Narang, one of the SOMs, is the only candidate for the position of male vice president. Two candidates, Rajlaxmi Singh Deo and Alaknanda Ashok, have submitted nominations for the position of (female) ice president.
