PT Usha becomes the first female President of the Indian Olympic Association

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has chosen PT Usha as its first female president on December 10, 2022. She was elected unopposed under the supervision of Supreme Court-appointed retired judge L Nageswara Rao. She has now taken over for Narinder Batra, who stepped down as the President of the IOA in July for personal reasons. The 58-year-old, who placed fourth in the 400m hurdles final at the Summer Olympics 1984 in Los Angeles, is the first international medalist to lead the association.

Recently, the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) noted great progress regarding its problems with the IOA.  During an Executive Board meeting in September, a final warning regarding ongoing governance issues was sent to the National Olympic Committee (NOC). Therefore, the elections may be critical in helping the NOC win back the IOC’s confidence. Elections were previously scheduled for December 2021 but got delayed due to a legal dispute in which the NOC was accused of breaking the national sports code.

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The former sprinter is also one of eight Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOMs) chosen by the newly elected IOA Athletes’ Commission. Olympic bronze medalist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, Summer Olympics 1980 hockey champion M M Somaya, retired tennis player Rohit Rajpal, Commonwealth Games 2006 boxing gold medalist Akhil Kumar, Commonwealth Games 2022 champion rifle shooter and present High-Performance Coach of the Indian Junior Rifle Shooting Team Suma Shirur, multiple Commonwealth Games badminton medalist Aparna Popat and Asian and Commonwealth Games medalist archer Dola Banerjee are the other members who comprise the commission.

Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha, popularly known as PT Usha is frequently referred to as the nation’s “queen of track and field.” She dominated Asian track-and-field events during the majority of the 1980s, winning 23 medals in total, 14 of which were gold. She has garnered four gold and seven silver medals in Asian Games. She was a fan favorite wherever she raced. The Kerala-born athlete is known for her long strides.