New Delhi : Table tennis legend and multi-time Commonwealth Games medalist Achanta Sharath Kamal expressed his happiness that PT Usha will become the President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), saying that the Indian sports is in the right hands at this point of time.
"PT Usha ma'am is going to be the IOA President. The announcement will be done on December 10 when the election will be over and there is only one nomination. The Indian sports is in the right direction and right hands at this time," said Kamal, who will be receiving the Khel Ratna Award, to a news agency.
Legendary athlete PT Usha has been elected as the President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, previously the Union Sports Minister, congratulated the athlete on her election. "Congratulations to legendary Golden Girl, Smt. P T Usha on being elected as the President of Indian Olympic Association. I also congratulate all the sporting heroes of our country on becoming the office bearers of the prestigious IOA! A nation is proud of them!," tweeted Rijiju.
Earlier, Usha had said that she is filing nomination for the post. "With the warm support of my fellow athletes and National Federations, I am humbled and honoured to accept and file for the nomination of the president of IOA!" PT Usha tweeted on Saturday. Sports Authority of India (SAI) also retweeted Rijiju's tweet.
The star sprinter Usha is one of the greatest athletes to have ever come out of India and brags four gold medals and seven silvers at the Asian Games. She missed out on a podium finish in the women's 400m hurdles at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics by 1/100th of a second. Her timing of 55.42s in LA still holds as a national record.
The IOA executive committee election will take place on December 10, with an electoral college of 77 members. Usha was a part of the eight sportspersons of outstanding merit (SOMs), selected by the Athletes' Commission of the IOA announced earlier this month.
Olympic medal-winning wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, former hockey player M M Somaya, tennis player Rohit Rajpal, boxer Akhil Kumar, shooter Suma Shirur, badminton player Aparna Popat and archer Dola Banerjee are the other seven SOMs selected by the Athletes' Commission of the IOA, which was elected on November 14.
Boxing legend MC Mary Kom is the president of the IOA Athletes' Commission while table tennis legend Sharath Kamal is her deputy. Under the new constitution of the IOA, the eight SOMs, with four male and as many female members, will be a part of the General Assembly with voting rights.