P.T. Usha elected as president of the Indian Olympic Association
Synopsis
The deadline to file nomination papers for the IOA elections ended on Sunday. IOA elections returning officer Umesh Sinha did not receive any nominations on Friday and Saturday but 24 candidates filed nominations for various posts on Sunday.
The legendary PT Usha is set to become the first woman president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as she emerged as the lone candidate for the top post for the December 10 elections. The 58-year-old Usha, a multiple Asian Games gold medallist and a fourth-place finisher in the 1984 Olympics 400m hurdles final, filed her nomination papers for the top job on Sunday, along with 14 others from her team for the various posts.
The deadline to file nomination papers for the IOA elections ended on Sunday. IOA elections returning officer Umesh Sinha did not receive any nominations on Friday and Saturday but 24 candidates filed nominations for various posts on Sunday.
There will be contests for one post of vice president (female), and joint secretary (female). There were 12 candidates in the fray for four executive council members.
The IOA polls will be held to elect one president, one senior vice-president, two vice-presidents (one male and one female), one treasurer, two joint secretaries (one male and one female), six other Executive Council members, out of which two (one male and one female) shall be from the elected SOMs.
Two members of the Executive Council (one male and one female) will be the Athletes’ Commission representatives.
Former Indian athlete and Member of Parliament, PT Usha is all set to take over the helm as the first woman President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). 58-year-old Usha, who was recently nominated for the Rajya Sabha will now take over the charge as the President of the IOA on December 10, when the official procedure comes to an end.
With the warm support of my Fellow Athletes and National Federations I am humbled and honored to accept and file for the Nomination of the President Of IOA!,” Usha had tweeted earlier.
The deadline to file nomination papers for the IOA elections ended on Sunday (November 27). According to IOA elections returning officer Umesh Sinha, no nominations were filed for the post since the process began on Friday. Usha, a top sprinter in her heyday, has also been elected as one of the eight Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOM) by the Athletes Commission of the IOA, making her an electoral college member.
Usha, fondly known as ‘Payyoli Express’, is being seen as a candidate of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party which had nominated her as a Rajya Sabha member in July. She is one of the most decorated Indian athletes, having won 11 medals, including four gold in the Asian Games from 1982 and 1994. She won all four gold in the 1986 Seoul Asan Games — 200m, 400m, 400m hurdles, and 4x400m relay — and also bagged a silver in the 100m.
Usha also won a 100m and 200m medals in the 1982 New Delhi Asian Games. She also won a phenomenal 23 medals, including 14 gold, in the Asian Championships from 1983 to 1998, collectively in 100m, 200m, 400m hurdles, 4x100m relay, and 4x400m relay. But she is most remembered for missing out on a medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics 400m hurdles final, where she was beaten by Cristiana Cojocaru of Romania by one-hundredth of a second.
She is now set to be the President of IOA on December 10 where Usha will become the first sportsperson to have represented the country and also become 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.
