N Ramachandran, brother of N Srinivasan, elected IOA president

N Ramachandran, the new IOA president

N Ramachandran, the brother of BCCI president N Srinivasan, has been elected unopposed as the Indian Olympic Association president in the polls held on Sunday.

In addition, Kho Kho Federation of India president Rajeev Mehta and All India Tennis Association president Anil Khanna were elected unopposed as the secretary general and treasurer respectively.

The successfully conducted polls will in all likelihood pave the way for the India’s return to the Olympic fold. The IOA was suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in December 2012 because of the controversy surrounding its election procedures.

To make sure that the polls were carried out in accordance with the Olympic charter, the IOC sent three observers – IOC director of National Olympic Committees (NOC) relations Pere Miro, IOC Ethics Commission member Francisco J. Elizalde and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) director General Husain Al Musallam to oversee the process.

Ramachandran is the former secretary general of the Squash Rackets Federation of India. Prior to the suspension of the IOA, he had been elected as its treasurer.

It is pertinent to add here that the Indian athletes are participating under the IOC flag at the Sochi Winter Olympics. If the election of Ramachandran is approved by the IOC, Indians may be allowed to compete under the tri-colour in future Olympic competitions.