PT Usha keeps IOA presidential bid alive through Ice Hockey Association route

PT Usha has re-entered the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) presidential race as the women’s representative of the Ice Hockey Association of India (IHAI), keeping her bid for a second term alive. This comes after she failed to secure direct entry into the IOA General Assembly, finishing fifth in Monday’s contentious Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOM) elections and missing out on one of the four women’s places, reported TOI.

Adopting the National Sports Federation (NSF) route, Usha is the IHAI’s women’s nominee in the provisional electoral college for the IOA Executive Council (EC) elections on December 5, released by electoral officer Sanjay K Srivastava on Thursday. Harjinder Singh is the association’s male nominee. The move is a pointed response to those who believed her SOM defeat had ended her bid for a second term as IOA chief.

Having missed out on a place among the SOMs, Usha's prospects in the IOA presidential race appeared to have suffered a setback. However, her nomination to the electoral college could give her another opportunity to contest for the top position.


The SOMs, along with all 60 members nominated by the National Sports Federations (NSFs), are eligible to contest for positions in the new IOA Executive Council.

The men's category had already seen four candidates elected unopposed after eight of the 12 contenders withdrew from the race. Olympic medallists Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt and Vijender Singh, along with former table tennis player Kamlesh Mehta, have secured their places as male SOM representatives.

The SOM representatives will become members of the IOA General Assembly and will be eligible to vote and contest in the December 5 Executive Council elections. One male and one female SOM representative will also secure places in the Executive Council, giving the elected members a direct role in the association's governing structure.

AITA nominations trigger fresh controversy

The provisional list has its own flashpoints. At the All India Tennis Association (AITA), interim president Chintan Parikh and Rushmi Chakravarthi figure as representatives, but IOA’s current EC member Rohit Rajpal is missing. Rajpal has objected, alleging Parikh bypassed an AITA executive committee meeting and secured approval through an advisory group. He questioned why Leander Paes was not included and Parikh’s name sent instead. Both Rajpal and Parikh are contesting AITA’s elections on November 27 as presidential hopefuls.

The final electoral roll will be published on November 15 after scrutiny and withdrawals. It will also include eight elected SOMs and India’s IOC member.