Usha is one of the eight SOMs who were selected by the IOA’s Athletes Commission. There are at least four SOMs in the EC (that has a total of 15 members): PT Usha (athletics), Yogeshwar Dutt (wrestling), Rohit Rajpal (tennis) and Dola Banerjee (archery). Dutt, Rajpal and Banerjee are EC members and signatory to the 14-point agenda list sent to the IOA president for Thursday’s meeting. MM Somaya (hockey), Suma Shirur (shooting), Aparna Popat (badminton) and Akhil Kumar (boxing) are the other members.

The letter written by one of the contestants to Rajeev Mehta, the then secretary of the IOA, had questioned the validity of the process that went into selecting the eight names. It also alleged, since the general body has ratified the names, whether their names can be incorporated in the electoral college or make them eligible to contest elections. Interestingly, it is understood that the general body did not raise any objection to the ratification of the SOMs names in 2022.

Whether or not they are eligible is a different question. But going through the List of Nominated Candidates (2022 IOA election; Form 3 dated 29.11.2022) for the election reveals an interesting story. There were not too many contestants but those who won were more or less proposed and seconded by the same set of people.

For example, the president, an SOM, was proposed by all powerful chief minister of Assam and Badminton Association of India chief Himanta Biswa Sarma and seconded by M Somaya, an SOM. Ajay Patel was proposed by former union minister Arjun Munda and seconded by an SOM, Dutt. Name of Gagan Narang, the vice president, was proposed by former tainted Wrestling Federation of India president Brijbhushan Sharan Singh and an SOM, Usha. Sahdev Yadav’s name was proposed by AITA president and former MP Anil Kumar Jain and seconded by Aparna Popat.