After months of infighting between the President and executive council of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), both parties seem to have mended their relationship, at least for the time being.
On Thursday, IOA members confirmed that the appointment of Raghuram Iyer as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) — a bone of contention between the two parties — has been ratified and he will continue in his post.
Till now, the EC members had refused to ratify Iyer’s appointment made by IOA President PT Usha in January 2024 – his Rs 20 lakh per month salary along with other perks being the apparent reason for the disagreement.
“Everything is sorted out now and Raghuram Iyer is the CEO of IOA. There are always differences of opinion when there is a discussion but it is all good now,” IOA vice-president Kalyan Chaubey said.
Executive council member Harpal Singh claimed there was no infighting in the IOA, only ‘minor bickering’.
“We have resolved all the minor differences and we are united now. While there was infighting, we never let it hamper anything. We continued meeting in smaller groups, we delivered the National Games twice and had a solid performance at the 2022 Asian Games,” he said.
The thaw comes after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) raised concerns last month over India’s governance issues and the doping menace, asking IOA to get its house in order first as it bids to host the Olympic Games.
Working on governance, doping
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The IOA has decided to set up an anti-doping committee, led by executive council member Rohit Rajpal, that will include former shuttler Aparna Popat and sports medicine expert PSM Chandran, among others.
“We have made significant progress in the fight against doping but there are problems to be tackled at the grassroots level. The committee will design and implement anti-doping education programmes for athletes at all levels, coaches, sports officials, and parents,” Rajpal said.
Sports Bill ratified by international bodies
The IOA opposed the ‘National Sports Governance Bill’ for a long time on the grounds that it threatened the autonomy of sports bodies. However, after multiple rounds of consultations with various stakeholders including IOC and international sports organisations, it was tabled in the Parliament on Wednesday.
The Bill, once it becomes an Act, will lead to the formation of a National Sports Board that will be authorised to grant recognition to national federations and regulate their funding.
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“The IOC was concerned about two-three issues but the ministry consulted the world body and other international federations and then the bill was cleared,” Usha said.
IOA vice-president and AIl India Football Federation President Chaubey said, “The Bill is about guiding the sports ecosystem and shouldn’t be seen as intervention from the ministry.”
Update on Olympics, CWG bids
India has bid for the 2036 Olympics and 2030 Commonwealth Games, but new IOC president Kirsty Coventry has paused the process to select future Games hosts for the time being.
“They (IOC) have just got a new leader and she is driving some changes and in the next couple of years, we can see where it is going. It will be premature to say anything as more countries have entered the fray for the 2036 edition,” Iyer said after Qatar confirmed their official bid for 2036 on Wednesday.
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In case of the CWG bid, the international body is resetting the Commonwealth programme and can announce the host by the end of the year.
“After Victoria pulled out of the 2026 CWG bid, there has been a lot of debate. The body is looking to reset the CWG programme. A number of countries have expressed their interest, and the Commonwealth Sports representatives will be looking at all the possible hosts. There is a general assembly at the end of the year where we can expect an announcement,” Harpal Singh, who is part of the CWG revamping team, said.
