IOA Elections: Families rule Indian sports

November 7, 2012
Indian_olympic_association


Bangalore, November 7: The elections to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) are turning out to be family soap opera. A look at the electoral college shows how several families have used various sports as their personal fiefdoms. It also reveals that some of the big names which courted controversies recently are still very much in control.

Lalit Bhanot, the former big boss in athletics, who is being tried in cases relating to the Delhi Commonwealth Games, will attend the annual general body meeting on November 25 representing the Delhi Olympic Association.

Bhanot, who is likely to contest for the post of secretary-general, will be joined by Abhay Singh Chautala with the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) forwarding his name as one of the three voters from the federation.

IABF has also named Chautala's brother-in-law Abhishek Matoria, who was controversially elected as the president, despite not being eligible to attend the meeting. Chautala can also expect the support of his brother Ajay who will cast his vote as the representative of the Table Tennis Federation of India.

The electoral rolls, released for the first time after the 1996 elections held in Bangalore, also expose the tradition of families ruling Indian sports.

Secretary-general and a candidate for the president's post, Randhir Singh, can expect support from the National Rifle Association of India led by Raninder Singh, who is his nephew. The same applies to Bowling Federation of India headed by Randhir's daughter Sunaina Kumari. Randhir also has a vote as the member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Among those from other families who will be part of the elections and attract attention in the list, officially released on Tuesday by IOA acting president VK Malhotra, are SS Dhindsa (Punjab Olympic Association) and his son Parminder Singh Dhindsa (Cycling Federation of India), CP Singh Deo and his wife Raj Laxmi (rowing), the Nanavati brothers Kamlesh and Virender (swimming) and Rajeev Mehta (kho-kho) and wife Deepa Mehta (luge). There may be more such instances in this list and it appears that the fate of the candidates, which will be known soon, will depend on the favourites of these families.

That the prospective candidates have left no stone unturned in ensuring victory in the elections was evident from the nominees of Athletics Federation of India which excluded its president Adille Sumariwalla. AFI, in turn, nominated ML Jadam, who doesn't hold any post, along with CK Valson (secretary) and Sushil Salwan (vice-president).

Meanwhile, Union sports secretary PK Deb told TOI that the ministry will write to IOA and the returning officer about Abhay Singh Chautala.

"We will bring to their notice that the post of chairman doesn't exist in IABF. Whether he can vote or contest is for the returning officer to decide," Deb said.

HI gets IOA nod

With the administrators of hockey vertically split, the IOA on Tuesday went with Hockey India, giving voting rights to its nominees - Mariamma Koshy, Narinder Batra and Sudharshan Pathak. It also allowed the Indian Hockey Federation nominees - V Dinesh Reddy, Jatinder Peter and RK Shetty - to attend the meeting. "As per the Delhi High Court order dated October 16 you will be permitted to participate in the meeting but will not be entitled to vote as per the IOA constitution," acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra said.



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News Network
March 27,2020

New Delhi, Mar 27: Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar on Friday donated Rs 50 lakh to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far claimed 17 Indian lives and wreaked havoc globally.

Tendulkar's donation is so far the biggest contribution among India's leading sportspersons, some of whom have pledged their salaries while a few others have donated medical equipment to fight the dreaded outbreak, which has caused more than 24,000 deaths globally.

"Sachin Tendulkar decided to contribute Rs 25 lakh each to Prime Minister's Relief Fund and Chief Minister's Relief Fund in his bid to join the fight against COVID-19. It was his decision that he wanted to contribute to both funds," a source privy to the development, told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Tendulkar has been associated with a lot of charity work and there has been umpteen times, he has taken up social causes, helped people, which has never been brought to public notice.

Among other prominent cricketers, the Pathan brothers -- Irfan and Yusuf -- donated 4000 face masks to Baroda police and health department while Mahendra Singh Dhoni, through a Pune based NGO, made a contribution of Rs 1 lakh.

Among athletes from other disciplines, wrestler Bajrang Punia and sprinter Hima Das are some of the prominent names to have donated their salaries in the battle against the dreaded virus which has led to a 21-day national lockdown.

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Agencies
April 2,2020

Lausanne, Apr 2: The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics and the shutdown of the sporting calendar because of the coronavirus pandemic are going to hit international sports federations hard financially.

Many sports that are part of the Games depend heavily on the payouts every four years from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

"The situation is tense and very gloomy. An assessment will be made, but clearly some posts are under threat," said an official of a major international federation.

The 28 international federations (IF) of the sports that were due to be present at the Tokyo Olympics, would have received substantial sums from the IOC.

However, the postponement of the Games until 2021 could lead to a freeze of their payment.

"We have a lot of IF with substantial reserves, but others work on a different business model, they have income from major events which are suspended, which can be a problem for the cashflow if they don't have enough reserves," said Andrew Ryan, director general of the Association of International Olympic Summer Sports Federations (ASOIF), which is responsible for distributing this money.

The five additions to the Tokyo Games programme - karate, surfing, skateboarding, climbing and baseball/softball - are not eligible.

The Olympic payout totalled 520 million after the Rio Games, four years ago.

"The Olympic money could be less than for Rio 2016," Ryan warned before adding: "My advice is to budget the same as in Rio".

The federations receive money on a sliding scale determined by their audience and size.

The three largest (athletics, swimming and gymnastics) can expect approximately 40 million.

For the second tier, made up of cycling, basketball, volleyball, football and tennis, the sum is 25 million.

For group three, which contains eight sports, including boxing, rowing, judo and table tennis, it is 17 million.

The nine sports in the next level (including sailing, canoing and fencing) receive 12 million.

For the three in the last category (rugby, golf, modern pentathlon) the payout is 7 million.

For the largest associations, such as football's FIFA which has a 1.5 billion nest egg, or basketball body FIBA which has CHF 44.4 million (42 million euros) in reserves, IOC aid represents a small proportion of their income.

For others, it is vital.

"Some IF probably don't have the cashflow to survive one year," said Ryan.

For most federations, the postponement of the Olympic Games has a domino effect, forcing them to reschedule their own money-earning competitions.

"The revenues from these events will eventually come in," said Ryan. "But this impacts the cashflow." World Athletics has already postponed the 2021 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon to 2022.

The International Swimming Federation (FINA) will have to do the same for its World Championships scheduled for next summer in Fukuoka, Japan, when they would probably clash with the Tokyo Games.

"One edition of the World Championships means for us 10 million in revenues," said one sports federation official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"If this income is postponed, totally or partially, for a year, we will face major problems, especially if the IOC money, originally expected in September, is not paid out."

The Singapore-based International Table Tennis Federation has already taken steps, with "the Executive Committee agreeing to reduce their expenses and senior staff offering to take a salary reduction," said marketing director Matt Pound, but, he added,"further cuts will take place if needed."

- 'Significant loss of revenue' -

The ITTF has suspended all its competitions until June and that is costly.

Kim Andersen, the Danish president of London-based World Sailing, said commercial revenues are not immune.

"The IOC will eventually pay out its aid, but what weighs most heavily is the uncertainty about whether our competitions will be held and whether our sponsors will be maintained," he said.

The IOC is not prepared to go into details of what it plans.

"It is not possible at this stage to assess the overall impact" of the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, an official told AFP.

"It depends on a number of variables that are currently being studied." According to an official of one federation: "the IOC will discuss on a case-by-case basis, sport by sport".

Another option is for the federations to ask for a share of the public aid set up to deal with the coronavirus crisis, in Switzerland, where 22 ASOIF members are based and also in the United Kingdom, home of World Sailing.

"Can sports federations benefit from federal aid? The answer is yes, in principle," Philippe Leuba, State Councillor of the canton of Vaud, in charge of the economy and sport, told.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8: Former opener Gautam Gambhir is mighty impressed with the way K.L. Rahul batted during India's comfortable seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I and said it amazes him why the right-handed batsman can't play the same way in Tests. On Tuesday, Rahul top-scored with a 32-ball 45 as India chased down the meagre target of 143 with utmost ease at the Holkar Stadium.

"Rahul is in unbelievable form. It amazes me every time I see Rahul bat that why didn't he play the same way in Test cricket," Gambhir told the host broadcasters. "It's not about only white-ball cricket; it is about Test cricket too. He just got into a shell too much. With the kind of quality he posses, he is someone who can get you a 50-ball 100 in Test cricket as well. The kind of shots he has is superb," he added.

Shikhar Dhawan, who is making a return to the team after an injury lay-off, also contributed with a "rusty" 30-ball 32. Both Dhawan and Rahul are virtually playing for the second opener's slot for the World T20, with Rohit Sharma set to be one.

And Gambhir feels going by the current form, Rahul should be opening the batting alongside Rohit in Australia. "You can't compare IPL to international cricket. When you're playing for Delhi Capitals, you know there's no one waiting for the opportunity, but when you're playing for the country and you know there's someone who's actually can replace you, there'll always be pressure. And today it was shown who's in better form," Gambhir said.

The cricketer-turned-politician, however, exuded confidence that Dhawan will bounce back strongly in the next game. "Shikhar Dhawan looked rusty but it's a good thing that he got some runs under his belt. It will help him when he walks out to bat in the next game. Had he got out early, the pressure would have been more," he said.

India will play Sri Lanka in the final T20I in Pune on Friday before taking on Australia in a three-match ODI series beginning January 14 in Mumbai.

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