Indian legend PT Usha filed the nomination for the post of Indian Olympic Association’s president on Saturday, her Twitter revealed. “With the warm support of my Fellow Athletes and National Federations I am humbled and honoured to accept and file for the Nomination of the President Of IOA!,” she tweeted.
Usha and Olympic bronze medallist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt were among eight sportspersons of outstanding merit (SOMs) who were picked by the newly-elected Athletes Commission to vote during the December 10 elections of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
The other six SOMs are M M Somaya (hockey), Rohit Rajpal (tennis), Akhil Kumar (boxing), Suma Shirur (shooting), Aparna Popat (badminton) and Dola Banerjee (archery).
With the warm support of my Fellow Athletes and National Federations I am humbled and honoured to accept and file for the Nomination of the President Of IOA!
— P.T. USHA (@PTUshaOfficial) November 26, 2022
Under the new constitution of the IOA, the eight SOMs, who will be a part of the General Assembly with voting rights, have four male and four female members. The IOA has already approved the constitution under mandatory directive of the Supreme Court.
More than 70 former athletes had applied for the roles of eight SOMs and the Athletes Commission of the IOA had formed a five-member sub-committee to shortlist the candidates.
The 10-member Athletes Commission was elected on November 14. A day later, boxing legend M C Mary Kom was appointed its president while table tennis ace Achanta Sharath Kamal was made her deputy. The other members of the Athletes Commission are PV Sindhu, Shiva Keshavan, Mirabai Chanu, Gagan Narang, Rani Rampal, Bhavani Devi, Bajrang Lal and OP Karhana.
(With PTI inputs)
