athletes commission: PT Usha, Yogeshwar Dutt among eight SOMs picked by IOA Athletes Commission

Former sprint queen PT Usha and Olympic bronze-medallist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt were among the eight sportspersons on Saturday selected by the newly elected Athletes’ Commission to vote during the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) elections to be held on December 10. The other six SOMs are MM Somaya (hockey), Rohit Rajpal (tennis), Akhil Kumar (boxing), Suma Shirur (shooting), Aparna Popat (badminton) and Dola Banerjee (archery).

However, the names of the eight SOMs were yet to be officially notified by Justice (Retd) L Nageswara Rao, who was tasked by the Supreme Court to frame the IOA constitution and conduct elections.

Under the new constitution of the IOA drafted by Justice Rao, the eight SOMs, which will be part of the General Body with voting rights, have four male and four female members. The IOA has already approved the constitution under the mandatory direction of the Supreme Court.

“Yes, eight SOMs have been selected by the Athletes’ Commission and Justice LN Rao will notify the same,” a source in the know of the selection process told PTI on condition of anonymity. It (selection) was good. Over 70 former athletes applied for the eight SOM roles and the Athletes’ Commission of the IOA formed a five-member sub-committee to shortlist the candidates.

It is learned that some members of the Athletes’ Commission had insisted that the entire selection process – like criteria, points system – be made public.

The 10-member Athletes’ Commission was elected on 14 November. A day later, boxing legend MC Mary Kom was appointed its president, while table tennis ace Achanta Sharath Kamal was made its vice-president. Other members of the Athletes Commission are PV Sindhu, Shiva Keshavan, Mirabai Chanu, Gagan Narang, Rani Rampal, Bhavani Devi, Bajrang Lal and OP Karhana.

Originally published at Pen 18