decks
were cleared on Sunday for India's return to the Olympic fold after a 14-month
suspension with Indian Olympic Association conducting its polls with N
Ramachandran being elected as the president
. The election of
Ramachandran, chief of World
Squash Federation and younger brother of BCCI boss N Srinivasan, as IOA
president was a mere formality as he was the lone candidate in the fray for the
top post. Kho-Kho Federation of
India President Rajeev Mehta and All India Tennis Association (AITA) chief Anil
Khanna were also elected unopposed as Secretary General and Treasurer
respectively in the polls which marked the exit of corruption-tainted Abhay
Singh Chautala and Lalit Bhanot from the IOA.
Voting
was done only for eight vice-presidents as there were nine candidates in the
fray. One senior vice-president, six joint secretaries and nine executive
council members were also elected unopposed. All the office-bearers of the IOA
will have a term till 2016, the Olympic year. The three observers from International Olympic
Committee said they would submit a "favourable" report to IOC
president Thomas Bach and expressed hope that India's suspension would be
revoked "sooner than later" Robin Mitchell, IOC member from Fiji and
the seniormost among the three, even hinted that India's suspension could be
revoked before the end of the ongoing Sochi Winter Olympics so that the three
Indians taking part in the Games can hold the tri-colour in the closing
ceremony on February 23.
"We
are very happy at the way the proceedings have happened today. We are reaching
Sochi tomorrow and will submit our report to IOC President and it is upto him
when to call the Executive Board meeting to decide on India's return. We hope
it will happen sooner than later," Mitchell said. Asked about any time frame, he said, "The
IOC Executive Board is meeting before the closing ceremony of Sochi Winter
Olympics and hopefully the EB will decide to revoke India's suspension in that
meeting. We want Indian athletes to take part in the closing ceremony with the
national flag," he said. Meanwhile,
earlier in the day All India Football Federation was barred from attending the
special GBM as well as elections of Indian Olympic Association in New Delhi on
the ground that it did not follow the "proper procedure" while
sending names of their delegates, a charge which the AIFF has denied.
