HYDERABAD: It will be a strange duel. A bureaucrat taking on a seasoned politician! This will be to wrest the post of president of Telangana Olympic Association, elections for which are scheduled on February 9.AP Jithender Reddy, who is currently with the BJP and previously a TRS MP, and Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary IT and Industries Department, are rolling up their sleeves for a showdown. The saffron neta says he is associated with sports for close to 25 years and the other contender, the senior IAS officer, is promising to deliver Hyderabad as a world class sports destination, worthy enough to host Olympic events, though it may look a little far-fetched at the moment.
Jithender Reddy said: “Since 1995-96 till 2015, I was associated first with the Olympic association of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and after that, with Telangana Olympic Association. I have conducted national-level sports competitions, been involved in framing of policy on sports, was a member of State contingents in national level sports meets in other states and attended the Olympics in Brazil. I am confident that my long association with sports and easy accessibility will help me win the election.”
Hyderabad as Olympic venue
On the other hand, Jayesh Ranjan said, “All major economies in Asia and some developing countries like Brazil have hosted Olympics. India is looking to host the Olympics in future and there is a probability of it happening. In my opinion Hyderabad is a much better place to host the event than Delhi or Mumbai.”
“My aim would be to ensure that Hyderabad becomes a main contender for Olympic Games whenever it will be hosted in India, apart from ensuring talented sportspersons from Telangana get recognition, exposure and get to play in high quality tournaments in the State,” he added.The elections are being conducted following reconciliation between two former warring Olympic associations, TOA and Olympic Association of Telangana.
Third contestant
The election for post of president has a third contestant too, K Ranga Rao, who had previously headed the OAT. However, the election is expected to be a fight mainly between the politician and bureaucrat