New Delhi: The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) must immediately sort out the administrative standoff caused by the feud between its president PT Usha and the executive council members, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said.
“The IOA is fully responsible for the current situation and must urgently address and resolve its internal governance issues. The IOC does not have any further comments on this topic to make at this stage,” it said in response to a query by HT on the wrangling within IOA.
IOC’s response comes two days after IOA’s executive council rejected the appointment of Raghu Iyer as CEO and adopted a resolution to restart the hiring process for the post. Major differences have cropped up between sprint legend Usha, who took over the reins of IOA as its first woman president in December 2022, and the EC over Iyer’s appointment in January. IOA’s functioning has been affected at a time when it is in talks with IOC’s Future Host Commission to bid for the 2036 Olympics. IOC had said that a strong National Olympic Committee is needed in India to make a pitch for the bid.
The crisis has worsened in the last few weeks with Usha and EC members accusing each other of violating provisions of its constitution. The emergency executive committee meeting on Thursday had only one agenda – ratification of the CEO’s appointment. It turned out to be a stormy meeting with 12 EC members voting against the ratification. Jerome Poivey, IOC’s head of Institutional Relations and Governance, had joined the meeting through video conference as a special invitee.
“As discussed, and agreed upon in the meeting with your presence, the Executive Council in majority has rejected the nomination of Mr Iyer to be considered to the post of the CEO of the IOA. Where the Executive Council also puts on record a strong rebuttal of the claim of the President in terms of the appointment of Mr Iyer who in the first place was never appointed as the CEO of IOA,” 12 of the EC members said in a letter to Poivey on Friday, a copy of which is with HT.
The signatories include senior vice-president Ajay Patel, vice-presidents Rajlaxmi Singh Deo and Gagan Narang, and treasurer Sahdev Yadav. The EC has 15 members, including Usha. Athletes commission members Mary Kom and Sharath Kamal didn’t attend the meeting.
“We are deeply concerned with the conduct of the IOA President, whose autocratic behaviour has always been regrettable, and we also regret subjecting you to such an experience which has become a norm for her to run down the views and concerns of her colleagues in every single meeting or opportunity,” the letter said.
In a media statement on Sunday, Usha said Iyer’s choice was made in accordance with IOA rules. “I reiterate that this malicious letter from the 12 members of the IOA EC (to Poivey) is part of a much broader attempt to hinder the progress of Indian sports and undermine the positive developments that we, as a collective, have worked hard to achieve. These actions not only tarnish the image of Indian sports but also do a disservice to the aspirations of our athletes and the nation’s goal of becoming a global sporting powerhouse.”
