The retired track and field athlete, PT Usha has been named the president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). This news was unveiled by Kiren Rijiju, the Minister of Law and Justice of India, on Twitter while congratulating the athlete.
The Arunachal Pradesh MP’s tweet read, “Congratulations to legendary Golden Girl, Smt. P T Usha on being elected as the President of Indian Olympic Association. I also congratulate all the sporting heroes of our country on becoming the office bearers of the prestigious IOA! Nation is proud of them.”
With this development, PT Usha became the first woman to be president of the IOA. Over the weekend on Saturday, November 26, PT Usha announced her contention for the IOA president. The election was scheduled to take place on December 10 but the legendary athlete was the only contender, which led to her victory in the election.
PT Usha’s decorated career consists of 11 medals, including four gold, between 1982 and 1994 at the Asian Games. The Payyoli Express bagged four medals at the Seoul Asan Games in 1986 in the 200-metre, 400-metre hurdles, and 4 x 400 replay. In the 100-metre race, she attained a silver medal.
The last day for submitting nomination papers for the IOA elections was November 27. The returning officer for the IOA elections, Umesh Sinha, revealed that, since the formalities commenced on November 25, there weren’t any nominations filed for any positions.
PT Usha tweeted, “With the warm support of my Fellow Athletes and National Federations I am humbled and honoured to accept and file for the Nomination of the President Of IOA!,”