NEW DELHI: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu has been elected chairperson of the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) Athletes’ Commission, with India men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh named vice-chairperson, in an interesting development ahead of the Dec 5 elections of the national Olympic committee.However, neither will exercise voting rights in the IOA polls, breaking with the convention of the commission’s top two office-bearers representing athletes in the general assembly. Instead, Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Mirabai Chanu and leading swimmer Sajan Prakash have secured the two representatives’ voting positions in the general assembly.Both will have voting rights in the Dec 5 elections and could potentially contest the polls themselves.SOM race sees withdrawalsAkeen contest is expected for the eight Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOM) positions. Of the 27 nominations received, 23 have been declared valid by returning officer (RO) Sanjay Kumar Srivastava.Several withdrawals have taken place, including Sardar Singh, Sumeeth Reddy, Om Prakash Karhana and Sunith Singh. The list features prominent names, including IOA president PT Usha, Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt, Adille Sumariwalla and Saina Nehwal.Usha vs Sumariwalla for IOA top post?Athletics has the strongest representation, with four candidates — Sumariwalla, Ashwini Nachappa, Anju and Usha — in the SOM elections. A possible Usha-Sumariwalla contest for the IOA president’s post is also being discussed.
