IOA elections: Usha, Bindra, Adille in SOM race

Several prominent Indian athletes and Olympic medallists have thrown their hats into the ring to be elected as Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOMs) in the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) elections. The election of SOMs is expected to play an important role in the IOA polls, especially in the contest for the president's post.

The election of the IOA Executive Council is scheduled for December 5, 2026, ahead of the completion of the present executive council's term on December 10.

Current IOA president PT Usha, who was elected to the top post as a SOM in 2022, figures in the SOM roster of 40 men and 40 women prepared by returning officer Sanjay K Srivastava on Tuesday after scrutiny of applications. The SOM election will be held on November 5.

There will be eight SOMs in the IOA General Assembly, comprising four men and four women. "From amongst the eight elected SOMs, two SOMs, comprising one male and one female SOM, shall be elected to the IOA Executive Council," according to the IOA Constitution.

Some of the top male athletes whose names figure in the SOM roster include Beijing Olympics gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra; London Olympics medallists Gagan Narang and Yogeshwar Dutt, who are incumbent SOMs in the IOA; Olympic medallist boxer Vijender Singh; and table tennis stalwart Achanta Sharath Kamal, currently the vice-chairman of the Athletes Commission.

Former AFI president and Olympian Adille Sumariwalla has also thrown his hat into the ring. Former table tennis player Kamlesh Mehta, who was the general secretary of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), which is now under suspension by the Sports Ministry, also figures on the list. Ronjon Sodhi, Sardar Singh, Om Prakash Karhana, Jayant Talukdar and Samresh Jung are among the other applicants.

The women's list of 40 includes prominent former athletes such as Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal and Rani Rampal; World Championships medallist Anju Bobby George; and Dola Banerjee, Manisha Malhotra, Bhavani Devi, Manjusha Kanwar, Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, Pooja Kadian and Joydeep Kaur.

Interestingly, athletics has the highest representation among both male and female applicants, with 13 applicants in each category.

Twenty three applicants have been provisionally included in the list and have been asked to furnish additional documents. A few applicants may also not have retired from active sport. Bhavani Devi, for instance, is still active in fencing and IOA officials in the knowhow said it will go through further scrutiny.

Another set of 10 reserved athletes in male and female each has been prepared. If anyone notified for submission of more documents fails to fulfil the criteria, the reserved candidates will replace them.

Applicants were considered for inclusion in the SOM roster on the basis of a 10-tiered eligibility criterion.

The eligibility criteria state that SOMs should be "retired from active sport, i.e., they have not participated in any competitive sport event leading to selection to represent a district, State or India for at least one (1) year before the date of application and have represented India in an Olympic Sport for which the concerned National Sports Federation/national sports body is a member of IOA."

The SOM election is the first stage in the run-up to the IOA polls. The final electoral roll will be published, and invitations for nominations will be issued on October 23. Eligible candidates can file their nominations from October 27 to 30, while the SOM election will be held on November 5.

Elections to the Athletes Commission have also been notified, with polling, counting and declaration of results scheduled for November 3.

Eligible NSF Members are required to nominate two athlete representatives through their duly constituted Athletes’ Commissions, with nominations. The Athletes Commission will comprise 10 elected athletes — five men and five women, with the rules providing for specific representation of Olympic-category athletes and athletes with achievements at major competitions.