PT Usha got cleared to contest the December 5 IOA elections after the Electoral Officer rejected objections against her nomination on Sunday. With 71 voters in the fray, big names like Saina Nehwal and Gagan Narang are also eligible. Usha remains in the race for a second term as president.
The objections, raised by a faction of the Ice Hockey Association of India (IHAI) and former IOA president Narinder Batra, questioned PT Usha's eligibility to represent the federation in the IOA General Assembly.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha was cleared to contest the December 5 elections after the Electoral Officer rejected the objections raised against her nomination on Sunday. With the final electoral roll of 71 members published, Usha is back in the race for a second term, with Olympic medallists Anju Bobby George, Saina Nehwal and Gagan Narang also eligible to contest for various positions in the IOA Executive Council.
The Electoral Officer rejected the objections, noting that neither the IOA Constitution nor the National Sports Governance Act, 2025, and its accompanying rules contained a provision that automatically disqualified an individual from representing a national sports federation merely because they were associated with another federation.
The objections, raised by a faction of the Ice Hockey Association of India (IHAI) and former IOA president Narinder Batra, questioned Usha's eligibility to represent the federation in the IOA General Assembly. Usha, who failed to get elected as one of the four female Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOMs), had been nominated by the IHAI as one of its two representatives, keeping her bid for another term as IOA president alive.
The objections also challenged the nomination of IHAI secretary general Harjinder Singh. The Electoral Officer sought clarifications from the federation and held a hearing on November 14, where Harjinder and Srinivas Kotni appeared and confirmed that both Usha and Harjinder were active members. They also submitted an affidavit along with supporting records.
The 71-member electoral college comprises 60 representatives from 30 national sports federations, eight elected Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit, two elected Athletes' Commission representatives and India's International Olympic Committee member Nita Ambani. The list features several prominent names from Indian sport. Besides Usha, the eight SOM representatives include Anju Bobby George, Saina Nehwal, Rani Rampal, Dola Banerjee, Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt, Vijender Singh and Kamlesh Mehta. Olympic medallists Mirabai Chanu and Sajan Prakash are the two Athletes' Commission representatives.
Elections will be held for the posts of president, senior vice-president, two vice-presidents, treasurer, two joint secretaries and six other Executive Council members. Two of the six additional positions are reserved for SOM representatives, one male and one female.
The nomination process will run from November 22 to 24, with candidates required to submit their papers in person at the IOA office in New Delhi between 10.30 am and 4.30 pm. The final list of contesting candidates will be published on December 3, with polling scheduled for December 5.