IOA elections: PT Usha to be officially elected as first woman president
New Delhi (PTI): The legendary PT Usha will be officially elected as the first woman president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) during the governing body's polls on Saturday, ushering in a new era in country's sports administration.
The 58-year-old Usha, a multiple Asian Games gold medallist and fourth place finisher in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics 400m hurdles final, will be declared elected unopposed for the top post in the polls being held under the supervision of Supreme Court-appointed retired SC judge L Nageswara Rao.
The elevation of Usha to the top job will also mark the end of the long drawn crisis in the faction-ridden IOA, which was warned of a possible suspension by the International Olympic Committee if elections, originally due in December last year, are not held this month.
The elections will be held to choose joint secretary (female) and four ordinary members of the executive council and 77 members of the electoral college will cast their votes.
Alaknanda Ashok of Badminton Association of India and Suman Kaushik of Netball Federation of India are in the fray in a straight fight for the joint secretary's (female) post.
The voters will choose four members of the executive council out of the eight candidates in the fray.
The eight candidates are Amitabh Sharma, Bhupender Singh Bajwa, Cyrus Poncha, Harjinder Singh, Harpal Singh, Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Rohit Rajpal and Vitthal Shirgaonkar.
It will be an altogether new responsibility for Usha, an iconic track and field star, as she has no experience of holding any top office earlier. She is currently the chairperson of junior selection committee of Athletics Federation of India. She has also been in the various national awards committees set up by the government, over the years.
Usha, fondly known as the '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 will also become the first Olympian and first international medallist to head the IOA in its 95-year-old history, adding another feather in her cap after dominating Indian and Asian athletics for two decades before retiring in 2000 with a bagful of international medals.
Usha is 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.
Ajay Patel of National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) will be elected unopposed as senior vice-president. Olympic medallist shooter Gagan Narang and Rowing Federation of India president Rajlaxmi Singh Deo will also be elected unopposed as vice presidents.
Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) president Sahdev Yadav will be the treasurer as he is the lone candidate for the post.
All India Football Federation president and former goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey will be elected unopposed as the joint secretary (male).
Olympic medallist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and archer Dola Banerjee will be in the executive council as male and female representatives of the eight Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOM).
One candidate for vice president (female) and four for the executive council members had earlier withdrawn from the fray.
High-profile politicians like Union Minister Arjun Munda, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and BJP Member of Parliament Brijbhushan Sharan Singh are expected to cast their votes.
Some of the country's past and present top sporstpersons like Sakshi Malik, PV Sindhu, MM Somaya and Akhil Kumar, besides Usha, Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt, will also cast their votes.
The new executive council will also be substantially different from the earlier ones. At least five of the 14 executive council members (including IOC member in India, Nita Ambani), will be former sportspersons, which is unprecedented in the IOA history.
Only the likes of Sahdev Yadav and Rajlaxmi Singh Deo remain in the top post from the earlier IOA executive council.
The IOA adopted the new constitution, prepared by justice Rao, on November 10 after getting approval from the international committee.
The 77-strong electoral college has 66 members from 33 National Sports Federations which have nominated one male and one female each, eight SOMs (four male and four female), two from the Athletes Commission (one male and one female) and IOC member in India, Nita Ambani.
The IOA electoral college also has more women members (39) compared to male (38).
The IOA elections were due in December last year but could not be held owing to a pending case in the Delhi High Court where a petition was filed, seeking amendment in its constitution before holding elections to align it with the National Sports Code.
The Supreme Court later appointed justice (retired) Rao to draft the constitution and also hold elections.
On Tuesday, the IOC has noted the "significant progress" made by the IOA in resolving its governance issues but said that it will not decide on withdrawing the warning for a ban until it completes the elections process.
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Kawardha (Chhattisgarh), May 20: Nineteen tribals, including 18 women, were killed and three others injured when a mini goods vehicle ferrying a group of tendu leaves collectors plunged into a valley in Chhattisgarh's Kabirdham district on Monday afternoon, police said.
As per preliminary information, a brake failure led to the major accident, they said.
The accident occurred at around 1.45 pm on Banjari Ghat near Bahpani village under Kukdur police station limits, Kabirdham Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.
The victims were returning home after plucking tendu leaves from a forest in the vehicle meant for transporting goods, he said.
As per preliminary information, when the vehicle, with 36 people onboard, was descending in Banjari Ghat (valley), the driver shouted that brakes have failed following which many male occupants and he himself jumped off, the IPS officer said.
The vehicle veered off the road, tumbled down 40 feet and crashed onto a road below the valley, the official said.
On the other side of the road where the vehicle crashed there is a 200 feet deep gorge, he said.
After being alerted about the accident, teams of health personnel from nearby Kukdur and Pandariya and a police team rushed to the spot and launched a rescue exercise, Pallava said.
"Twelve women and a man were killed on the spot, while nine others sustained injuries. Five women of the nine injured succumbed while being shifted to a hospital," he said.
The remaining four injured persons, including three women, were shifted to Kabirdham district hospital here where a woman succumbed, the SP said.
Senior district administration and police officials visited the accident spot.
A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder will be lodged against the vehicle's owner and the driver, the SP said.
The victims were natives of Semarha village and for the last one week, they were using the same vehicle while going for plucking tendu leaves (used for making 'beedis' or leaf-wrapped cigarettes), he said.
Deputy CM Vijay Sharma, who holds the Home portfolio, visited Pandariya community health centre where 13 bodies were brought for post-mortem, and also the accident spot. Post-mortem of five bodies were performed at Kukdur health centre and of one in the district hospital.
Talking to reporters at Pandariya, Sharma termed the incident as "unfortunate" and said the state government will provide compensation to the kin of the victims as per the rules.
"The victims were natives of Semarha village in the Kukdur area. They used to regularly travel by vehicle to pluck tendu leaves. They were tendu leaf collectors.. It is a very painful and unfortunate incident," he said.
Asked about the cause of the incident, Sharma said as per preliminary information, a brake failure led to the accident.
Queried about safety measures to be taken on Banjari Ghat, the Deputy CM said, "It is not a matter of negligence, it is an accident. I don't think there is a need to look for fault in this. However, there is a need to focus on the fitness of such vehicles."
"If required a probe will be conducted," he said.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed grief over the accident and loss of lives.
"The news of the death of many people in a road accident in Kabirdham district of Chhattisgarh is very sad. I express my deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in this accident and wish speedy recovery to those injured," said the President in a message on social media platform 'X'.
PM Modi described the crash as extremely painful.
"The road accident that occurred in Kawardha, Chhattisgarh, is very painful. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones in this accident. I wish speedy recovery of the injured. Under the supervision of the state government, the local administration is engaged in providing all possible help to the victims," the PM said in a message.
CM Sai instructed the district administration to provide best possible medical assistance to the injured.
"Learnt about the tragic accident near Bahpani village in Kabirdham district. Necessary instructions have been given to the district administration to provide better treatment to the injured. May the departed souls rest in peace, and I express my deepest condolences to their families. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured," Sai said in a post on 'X'.
STORY | 15 persons killed as mini goods vehicle plunges into gorge in Chhattisgarh's Kabirdham
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 20, 2024
READ: https://t.co/pAYrzzfcGo
VIDEO:
(Source: Third Party) pic.twitter.com/L1UJtZ776H
छत्तीसगढ़ के कवर्धा में हुआ सड़क हादसा अत्यंत पीड़ादायक है। इस दुर्घटना में जिन्होंने अपनों को खोया है, उनके प्रति मेरी शोक-संवेदनाएं। इसके साथ ही मैं सभी घायलों के शीघ्र स्वस्थ होने की कामना करता हूं। राज्य सरकार की देखरेख में स्थानीय प्रशासन पीड़ितों की हरसंभव मदद में जुटा है।
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2024
