The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) desperately needs a Chief Executive Officer, but few seem to be working towards filling that spot. The IOA Executive Council has not been able to agree on the terms of reference in any of its meetings in the past few months, leading to inertia, if not a power struggle.
The impasse is affecting Indian sport since the Joint Secretary, who has been acting as CEO for well beyond the 60 days as allowed by the IOA Constitution in force now, has too many things on his plate. With the Asian Games due to be held in just over 100 days and with only 13 months left for the Paris Olympic Games, IOA leadership cannot afford being so sluggish.
Kalyan Chaubey, the incumbent IOA Joint Secretary and acting CEO, is also All India Football Federation President. He is fairly new to both positions. Even vastly experienced sports administrators have found the ask of balancing work as office-bearers in both IOA and their respective National Sports Federation quite a challenge.
IOA panel makes no headway in Wrestling probe
A more robust chief executive would have pushed for the seven-member IOA Committee looking into the complaints of wrestlers against the Wrestling Federation of India President to present at least an interim report. It has been more than five months since IOA formed the Mary Kom-led committee but there seems to have been little progress.
On another front, while the IOA – on a request from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports – formed an ad hoc committee to take over the administration of wrestling in the country, it erred in not picking an adequate number of members to handle the situation as well as in not picking the right members who could devote adequate time to the sport.
Come to think if it, in a clear indication of the lack of experience and foresight among the IOA leadership, it waited for the protesting wrestlers to request Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur to include a couple of coaches in the IOA Ad Hoc Committee to handle the technical side of administration.
Taekwondo, Equestrian athletes left in the lurch
Take the matters of the Taekwondo Federation of India (TFI) and the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) as well. Their athletes have been hoping that IOA would step up the plate and resolve the crisis staring at their careers ahead of the coming Asian Games in Hangzhou, but IOA seems to have not considered it important to play a role in finding amicable solutions.
A more experienced hand may have waited for TFI to secure World Taekwondo’s recognition before ‘recognising’ TFI as IOA member. The IOA Constitution specifies only National Sports Federations affiliated to the international federations concerned can be IOA members. Besides, TFI was not allowed to be a part of the IOA Electoral College in the December 10 elections.
This has left the Taekwondo athletes wondering which set of selection trials to attend. India Taekwondo, affiliated to the world body, and TFI, recognised by the Ministry and IOA, have both called for trials from June 16 to 18. The least IOA can attempt is to bring the warring parties to ceasefire in the interest of the athletes until the Asian Games.
Similarly, the suggestion of some members of the IOA Athletes Commission that IOA forms a selection panel to oversee the selection of the Equestrian team for the Asian Games seems to have fallen on deaf ears and the beleaguered Equestrian Federation of India is toying with the emotions and finances of the aspiring athletes.
IOA search for CEO yields no results
On January 10, 2023, the IOA advertised the position of the CEO and got seven applications but found only one that met the requirements. On February 21, the IOA Executive Council decided to issue a fresh advertisement with changed terms of reference and take three months to finalise the choice of CEO.
Responding to an email from IOC, PT Usha wrote on March 24 that the IOA Executive Council would discuss the new terms of reference for the appointment of a CEO in its next meeting. Five days later, the IOC Executive Board urged IOA on March 29 to finalise the appointment without further delay.
Interestingly, IOA had called a Special General Meeting to be held on May 5, ostensibly to consider some amendments to the Constitution. But under pressure from IOC to make no changes without its approval, the IOA Joint Secretary informed the invitees on May 1 that the Special General Meeting had been cancelled.
It is not as if IOC is ignoring the inability of the IOA Executive Council to resolve the debate on the need for a CEO and a team of professionals to manage the day to day affairs. It is perhaps waiting for the IOC Session in Mumbai to be complete before it delivers a warning to the IOA leadership to set its house in order so that Indian athletes feel care for by the apex body.
It has been six months now since PT Usha and company swept to power unopposed. And there are already reports that all is not well, with some leaders tugging in different directions, especially when it comes to a discussion on appointing a CEO. Who benefits from not having a CEO for IOA? Surely, it is not the contemporary athletes.
