Usha finished fifth in a six-candidate contest for four Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOM) positions, receiving 40 votes. Former long jumper Anju Bobby George topped the ballot with 53, followed by former hockey captain Rani Rampal with 50, archer Dola Banerjee with 45 and badminton Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal with 43.
Former basketball player Anitha Paul Durai finished sixth with six votes. The women’s electoral college comprised 80 former sportspersons, with voting conducted online on November 9.
The vote was held through the Right2Vote digital platform, with the four highest-polling candidates securing the available places. Usha received only three fewer votes than Nehwal, but the narrow margin offered no representation because the contest did not allocate a fifth seat.
The outcome matters because the successful SOM candidates enter the IOA General Assembly, whose membership provides a route to contest the association’s Executive Council elections on December 5. Usha, who became the first woman to lead the association in December 2022, has now lost that route to another presidential candidacy.
She could still qualify if a recognised National Sports Federation nominates her to the General Assembly. That possibility means Monday’s defeat does not, by itself, establish an absolute legal bar on her standing again, although securing such a nomination presents a substantial obstacle.
The December election will choose the Executive Council for the 2026–2030 term. The eight SOM representatives, split equally between women and men, will be entitled to participate in the assembly’s electoral process. One representative from each category will also sit on the Executive Council.
The men’s four positions were filled without a ballot after eight of 12 contenders withdrew. Olympic medallists Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt and Vijender Singh secured places alongside former table tennis player Kamlesh Mehta. Their uncontested election contrasted with the competitive women’s vote, in which Usha fell three votes short of fourth-placed Nehwal.
The result followed complaints about the conduct of the SOM election campaign. Before voting, Usha approached electoral officer Sanjay K Srivastava alleging that a WhatsApp message associated with Banerjee breached the election’s Model Code of Conduct by seeking support for a group of candidates.
Usha’s complaint referred to a message promoting a panel described as the New Bharat Panel and identifying four candidates for voters to support. She argued that such solicitation through social media conflicted with restrictions on campaign publicity contained in the code issued on October 30.
She also cited provisions requiring fair and dignified campaigning, requesting that election officials examine the communication, determine how it circulated and seek an explanation from those involved. The allegation concerned campaign conduct; it did not amount to an established finding of wrongdoing by Banerjee or any other candidate.
The electoral officer reiterated the applicable conduct rules before Monday’s voting, which took place between 9am and 5pm. No verified decision invalidating the ballot or disqualifying a successful candidate had been announced alongside the results.
The SOM ballot was separate from the presidential election itself. Voters on Monday were choosing former athletes to represent their category within the association, not directly selecting the next president. That distinction is important to assessing both the immediate result and the remaining nomination option open to Usha.
The election process had already been marked by withdrawals. Eight male and five female prospective candidates withdrew, leaving the men’s seats uncontested and reducing the women’s field to six.
Assembly representation is a prerequisite for pursuing leadership positions, making the composition of that body central to the next stage of the election.
Separately, the IOA Athletes Commission was constituted without a contested ballot. Badminton player P V Sindhu was selected as chairperson, with hockey player Harmanpreet Singh as vice-chairperson. Both have positions on the Executive Council through the athletes’ representation arrangements.
Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and swimmer Sajan Prakash were selected as athletes’ representatives to the General Assembly, giving them voting rights in the December 5 election. The commission also includes Salima Tete, Swapnil Kusale, Bhavani Devi, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Bombayla Devi and Manjeet Singh.
(The article ‘Setback for Usha in Olympic body’ appeared first on Free Press Journal.)
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