Elections within the faction ridden Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will need to be held by December 2022 or it will face suspension from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), warned a letter from the global body. Reporting on this issue, The Tribune of September 21 stated the letter specified that the IOC does not recognize any interim/acting president.
In the preceding month there was a tussle between IOA vice president and president of the Athletics Federation of India Adille Sumariwalla (pictured) and IOA senior vice president Anil Khanna following the resignation of Dr Narinder Batra as president. The Khanna camp claimed an earlier court order had installed Khanna as IOA president till the time an executive committee with a new set of elected office bearers takes charge. Sumariwalla though had countered with "Show me the court order. There is no court order,” as reported in The Times of India on August 30.
Sumariwalla’s letter to the IOC as quoted by Sportstar on August 27, had maintained, "18 executive members out of 31, i.e. majority members, in accordance with Clause 11.1.5 of the IOA constitution, co-opted the undersigned to fill the vacancy.” With Khanna completing 70 years next July he will be barred from contesting the elections.
Sumariwalla informed Parsiana on October 11 that a Supreme Court judge has been appointed to look into the constitution and call for elections.
The IOA is the governing body for the Olympic movement and the Commonwealth Games in India, administering various aspects of sports governance and athletes’ welfare in the country. As reported on its website Olympic.ind.in, IOA was established in 1927 with Sir Dorabji Tata as the founder president for the first year.