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Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adille Sumariwalla has been appointed as the interim president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
Sumariwalla replaced Narinder Batra, who resigned last month citing personal reasons.
For the first time in its history, the Indian Olympic Association has an Olympian as its president. Sumariwalla competed in the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.
In a letter addressed to the International Olympic Committee, Sumariwalla wrote:
“The erstwhile President of the IOA, Dr. Narinder Dhruv Batra, resigned from the post of President, IOA, on July 18 due to personal reasons, which led to a vacancy for the post of President, IOA. Thereafter, 18 Executive Members out of 31, i.e., majority members, in accordance with Clause 11.1.5 of the IOA Constitution, co-opted the undersigned to fill the vacancy for the post of President, IOA.”
Narinder Batra's resignation from Indian Olympic Association
The former president of the Indian Olympic Association, Narinder Batra, had earlier stepped down as the president of the International Hockey Federation (FIH). He also gave up his membership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
Batra resigned from the IOA, the IOC, and the FIH in separate hand-written notes on July 18.
The Delhi High Court ordered Batra to stop functioning as IOA president "in a contempt proceeding," filed by former Olympian and hockey World Cup-winner Aslam Sher Khan.
The resignation was tendered weeks after the Delhi High Court refused to stay an order through which Batra was restrained from discharging his functions as IOA president.
Batra took charge of the IOA for the first time in 2017 and was eligible to stand for re-election. He then became an IOC member in 2019 and later went on to become a member of the Olympic Channel Commission in 2020.
In a hand-written note, Batra wrote:
“Due to personal reasons, I submit my resignation from the post of president for which I was elected in 2017. Thank you for your support and guidance. I've decided to not run for a further term as president of the IOA."
Earlier, the CBI also registered a preliminary inquiry against Batra over charges of misusing Hockey India's funds.
