Narinder Batra not to contest for second term of IOA presidentship, to focus on FIH activities

Narinder Batra, president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), has decided not to contest the election for the post of IOA president for a second term. The seasoned Indian sports administrator confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday, May 25.

Batra, who is also president of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), said he is extremely busy with international hockey activities and wouldn’t be able to devote time to the Olympic movement in India.

“At a time when world hockey is going through an essential development phase, with the promotion of Hockey5s, the creation of a new competition this year & the FIH Hockey Nations Cup, my role as the president of the FIH requires more time for all these activities,” Batra said in a statement. “Consequently, I’ve decided to not run for a further term as president of the IOA.”

Batra’s decision not to contest for the post of IOA presidentship for a second term came after the Delhi High Court ordered on Wednesday that a three-member Chief of Administrators (CoA) be appointed to oversee Hockey India’s day-to-day affairs. Justice (retd) Anil Dave, SY Quraishi and former international hockey player Zafar Iqbal have been appointed by the Delhi High Court.

In 2016, Batra was the first Indian sports administrator to become chief of the international hockey federation. In May last year, Batra was re-elected president of the FIH for the second time after defeating Belgium’s Marc Coudron by two votes.

Batra was elected president of the IOA in 2017 while Rajiv Mehta was secretary general of the apex sports body in India. The term of the IOA office bearers expired in December 2021, but elections are pending as the two factions of the IOA are fighting a legal battle in the Delhi High Court.

The IOA constitution is also not aligned with the National Sports Code of 2011. The court reserved its order last month.