The president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), PT Usha, has expressed disappointment at 12 members of the IOA Executive Council (EC), writing a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), accusing her of “autocratic” behaviour.
Alleging that the accusations were intended to “malign” her leadership and undermine the efforts towards betterment of Indian sports, Usha said, “I have never encountered individuals so indifferent to the aspirations of our athletes and our nation’s sporting future”.
The IOA president reiterated that the appointment of Raghuram Iyer as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) was done in January, “in strict accordance with the IOA Constitution”.
She pointed out that despite “undue resistance from a majority of the EC members, the Nomination Committee undertook the process of selection”, with the whole process recorded on video to ensure accountability and transparency.
PT Usha said that the appointment of CEO was duly ratified and she was requested to “negotiate the salary component”.
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She went on to reveal that despite the appointment in January, the CEO had not been paid “a single rupee” till date, as “certain EC members continue to defy the provisions of the IOA Constitution”.
She further added that some of the Executive Council members had “very questionable track records”, and that some had indulged in financial mismanagement.
She accused the earlier CEO, Kalyan Chaubey, of bypassing IOA General Assembly and granting affiliation to the Taekwondo Federaton when it was not recognised by the Asian and World bodies.
The IOA president concluded by saying, “I stand firm in my commitment to the values of integrity, transparency and the upliftment of Indian sports. We will not let baseless allegations derail our mission to empower our athletes and bring glory to our country on the global stage”.
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