According to her Twitter, Indian icon PT Usha nominated herself on Saturday for the position of president of the Indian Olympic Association. She wrote, “I am humbled and honoured to accept and submit for the Nomination of the President Of IOA! With the warm support of my Fellow Athletes and National Federations.
Yogeshwar Dutt, an Olympic bronze medalist in wrestling, and Usha were two of the eight sportspeople of exceptional merit (SOMs) chosen by the newly-elected Athletes Commission to cast ballots in the Indian Olympic Association elections on December 10.
The other six SOMs are Dola Banerjee (badminton), Akhil Kumar (boxing), Suma Shirur (shooting), M M Somaya (hockey), Rohit Rajpal (tennis), and Akhil Kumar (boxing).
According to the IOA’s new constitution, there will be four men and four women among the eight SOMs, who will comprise the General Assembly and have voting rights. As required by the Supreme Court, the IOA has already ratified the constitution.
The Athletes Commission of the IOA organised a five-member subcommittee to narrow down the applicants after more over 70 former athletes submitted applications for the eight SOM positions.
On November 14, the Athletes Commission’s ten members were chosen. Boxing legend M C Mary Kom was named its president the following day, and table tennis champion Achanta Sharath Kamal was named as her deputy. PV Sindhu, Shiva Keshavan, Mirabai Chanu, Gagan Narang, Rani Rampal, Bhavani Devi, Bajrang Lal and OP Karhana make up the Athletes Commission.
