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In a significant development ahead of the IOA elections, PT Usha missed out on a Sportsperson of Merit berth.
Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, centre, Olympic Association President P T Usha, right, and others during the send off ceremony for Asian Games 2026
Former Asian Games gold medallist and Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha received a massive blow on Monday after she couldn’t get elected as one of the four women’s Sportspersons of Merit in a field of six candidates after a controversial election.
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal made the cut.
Legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George, former archer Dola Banerjee and ex-Indian women’s hockey skipper Rani Rampal were also elected as SOMs.
Eighty SOMs, 40 men and 40 women, form the electoral roll for the election of the four female representatives.
On Saturday, November 7, Olympic medallists Gagan Narang, Vijender Singh and Yogeshwar Dutt, along with former paddler Kamlesh Mehta, were elected unopposed as the four male SOMs after eight other candidates withdrew from the race.
Among the withdrawals were Athletics Federation of India president Adille Sumariwalla and former paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal and former shuttler B Sai Praneeth.
Usha can contest the IOA Executive Council elections scheduled for Saturday, December 5, only if a National Sports Federation nominates her to the General Assembly, a possibility that appears unlikely.
The track and field legend isn’t expected to be one of the two representatives from the Athletics Federation of India.
According to the IOA Constitution, a presidential candidate must either be an SOM or a member of the General Assembly. In 2022, Usha became the IOA’s first woman president after being elected unopposed through the SOM route.
The eight elected SOMs will join the IOA General Assembly, granting them voting rights and making them eligible to contest the December 5 elections for the new Executive Council.
Two SOMs, one man and one woman, will also become members of the IOA Executive Council.
The IOA SOM elections were marred by controversy after Usha lodged a complaint with Electoral Officer Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, accusing former archer Dola Banerjee of violating the Model Code of Conduct by circulating a WhatsApp message seeking votes.
In her complaint, Usha objected to a WhatsApp message circulated from an account bearing Dola’s name. The message sought support for the ‘New Bharat Panel’ and requested voters to elect four named candidates, specifying their ballot serial numbers and roll numbers.
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Ask News18Saina Nehwal, Anju Bobby George, Dola Banerjee, and Rani Rampal were elected as the four female Sportspersons of Merit (SOMs).
Ask News18November 09, 2026, 7:30 PM IST
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