The Indian Olympic Association is in an utter mess. The infighting has turned pungent— allegations and counter-allegations are flying thick between the IOA president and its executive committee (EC). The two sides upped the ante after the Paris Olympics. As a result, the IOA has come to a standstill. What is even more disturbing is that player-centric proposals are getting affected now. Over what? The CEO’s appointment, which EC members have been opposing since January. The EC meeting last week ended in acrimony, without any resolution. All of this took place in front of Jerome Poivey, head of institutional relations and governance at the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was a big embarrassment for the entire IOA including President P T Usha.
The fight has stalled the functioning of the IOA. The CEO, who has been working since January 15, is yet to be paid because the EC is still not on board. The EC, including the IOA chief, need to find a solution now because the bid process for the 2036 Games is stuck, among other things. The IOC told this newspaper that they have not yet been informed of the ‘select region’ where the Games are proposed. There is no bid committee to liaise between the IOA, IOC and other stakeholders like host city representatives. If the IOA president is to be believed, even the Olympic medal winners are yet to be felicitated more than one-and-a-half months after Paris.
A dozen of the 15 EC members have chosen to go against the IOA president. The EC had cast aspersions on the entire process of electing the IOA chief and some top EC members. Usha, on the other hand, had sent show-cause notices to five EC members who, according to an unknown complainant, are in violation of the sports code. There have been allegations of financial mismanagement on the EC, too. The IOC asked them to sort out the matters soon. But as of now, there is no solution in sight. Perhaps it’s time the Supreme Court took note of the situation in the larger interest of sports in the country. The SC had said in 2022 that any objection to the IOA’s constitution and election would have to be referred to the top court. Maybe it’s time to make that call.