PT Usha keeps Indian Olympic Association chief re-election bid alive with ice hockey body nomination

Former Olympic track athlete PT Usha has kept her Indian Olympic Association chief re-election bid alive after being nominated on Thursday by the Ice Hockey Association of India as one of its two representatives to the general body, PTI reported.

She was elected as the president of the Indian Olympic Association in 2022, becoming the first woman to head the organisation. The next elections for the association’s executive council are scheduled to be held on December 5.

The Indian Olympic Association oversees the country’s participation in the Olympic Games and coordinates the administration of Olympic sports in India.

Usha’s nomination came days after she failed to secure one of the four available places for women in the sportspersons of outstanding merit elections. Former athletes Anju Bobby George, Saina Nehwal, Dola Banerjee and Rani Rampal were elected, The Times of India reported.

Her defeat weakened her chances of securing another term as the Indian Olympic Association president, as the sportspersons of merit representatives also form part of the electoral college for the executive council election.

However, Usha has now been nominated as the female representative of the Ice Hockey Association of India to the Indian Olympic Association’s general body, while its secretary general, Harjinder Singh, will be the male representative, PTI reported.

The nomination gives her a place in...

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