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Rajiv Mehta and Uday Sane will head the Badminton India Technical Officials Association (BITOA) committee for a four-year term. While Rajiv Mehta has been elected president of BITOA, Uday Sane has been designated as the secretary.
The new executive committee was elected unanimously on Saturday for a four-year period of 2022-26. BITOA is the technical wing of the Badminton Association of India (BAI).
The entire 24-member executive committee was elected unopposed. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of BITOA and elections were held virtually on July 9. Karan Shrivastava was the returning officer.
Rajiv Mehta, 52, served as secretary for the last two terms. Delhi-based Mehta replaced D Jaya Chandra of Andhra Pradesh as the new BITOA chief.
Pune-based Uday Sane was the founder president and will now act as secretary of the technical officials body.
There are a total of 250 lifetime members in BITOA. International, national, and state umpires who officiate in the Badminton Association of India's tournaments are members of this body.
BITOA came into existence in Manipal, Karnataka, in 2007. The objective of the body is welfare, education, and fundamental development of technical officials in India. Line judges, service judges, umpires, live scorers, match controllers, and referees can become members of BITOA.
Some BAI officials, including Omar Rashid, Gautam Mahanta, and others are also life members of BITOA. The body is also trying to rope in more BAI officials and those who are connected to badminton as members.
BITOA works for the welfare and development of its members: Rajiv Mehta
Rajiv Mehta said he will try hard to give maximum benefits to its members during the course of his four-year term. He told Sportskeeda on Sunday:
“I am happy that the elections of the new office bearers were held successfully without any problems. I have been given the responsibility to head the body.
"I have several plans to improve the facilities for our members. I will try my best to live up to the expectations of our unit. I am thankful to our main sponsor, Transform, who provides kitting to all our members. I am also trying to rope in more sponsors in the future.”
BITOA does welfare activities for its members and their families. They provide financial assistance to those members who are facing health issues.
“We have given several members and their families financial support in the last few years. We feel it is our primary duty to take care of our members and families when they are going through a crisis.
"I am talking to BAI for more cooperation and assistance in the future. I want all our umpires and other technical officials to travel by only flights to their respective tournament venues in the coming years.”
He said BITOA conducted around 15 courses during the pandemic to upgrade the knowledge of its members. Continuous upgradation of technical officials is key to the success of Indian badminton.
Badminton India Technical Officials Association's new Executive Committee
President
Rajiv Mehta
Senior Vice President
Shambhu Sharan Sahay
Vice Presidents
Biswajit Ghosh
Dharmesh Yashlaha
Gaurav Khanna
J Melvin Minoy
Rama Krishnaiah Pasupuleti
General Secretary
Uday (Dhananjay) Sane
Treasurer
Aniruddha Joshi
Joint Secretaries
Ajendra Rai
Balarina Syiem
Chandrakant Sharma
Satish Mallya
Vijay Kulkarni
Executive Members
Abhijit Bauarh
EP Divakaran
Penya Bagra
Praveen Kumar Meena
R Suresh Kumar
Rakesh Rasaniya
Reeta Dash
Sayali Parab
Trilok Shukla
Ujjwal Bahuguna.
