No letter received for withdrawing decision to appoint Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Chautala, says IOA Secretary Rajeev Mehta

Veteran sports administrators Suresh Kalmadi (right) and Abhay Singh Chautala (left) have faced charges of corruption. (Credits: Indian Express)
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What’s the story?

The Secretary-General of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Rajeev Mehta has quashed all reports that the IOA has annulled the appointments of Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala as life presidents.

Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, Mehta informed that there was no official letter that testified to the annulment. He said, “I have not received a letter regarding this matter from the President of IOA so you need to wait for a couple of days before coming to a conclusion"

He also added, “You should wait on this for a day or two. There is no official letter regarding it and I am yet to receive any sort of information.”

In case you didn’t know…

Several reports had emerged in the media suggesting that the IOA has revoked its decision. The body has been under pressure since announcing the appointments of the two corruption-tainted bureaucrats.

While Kalmadi was heavily involved in the Commonwealth Games scam back in 2010, Chautala himself has a tarnished reputation. Kalmadi was jailed following the scam but was released after serving only 10 months of his sentence. It was under Chautala’s presidency that the IOA by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for fielding charge-sheeted candidates in the elections.

The heart of the matter

The appointments had led to major controversy with several sports personalities rebuking the decision. Even the Sports minister of the country, Vijay Goel had expressed his shock at the decision and had warned that the Ministry would sever all ties with the association unless the appointments were cancelled.

The IOA had earlier defended its decision by saying that it was "constitutionally a legitimate decision". They had also tried to reduce the magnitude of the controversy by saying that the appointments were only honorary posts and that no executive authority was being handed to either Kalmadi or Chautala.

Later on, Kalmadi had turned down the offer as he refused to accept the post. Chautala quickly followed suit and offered to sacrifice the post in a long press release.

What next?

Although it seems certain, we have to wait for a few days for the official confirmation of the annulment of the appointments. The IOC will have to give in to the pressure to avoid any possible action from the IOC and to get the recognition of the Sports Ministry.

Sportskeeda’s take

The decision itself was an outrageous one at the first place. And now with all the speculation in the media, the situation is becoming worse. The IOA needs to make a clear stance regarding the matter. With such corruption-tainted official holding such important posts, it is a not the ideal scenario for sports to flourish in the country.

Edited by Staff Editor