New Delhi: India’s great athlete PT Usha has been elected as the first woman president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). She was elected unopposed in the election to become the first woman President of the IOA.
The 58-year-old Usha, a multiple Asian Games gold medallist and fourth place finisher in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics 400m hurdles final, was declared elected unopposed for the top post in the polls.
The elections were held under the supervision of Supreme Court-appointed retired SC judge L Nageswara Rao, as reported by news agency PTI.
The election of Usha to the top job marked an end to the long drawn crisis in the faction-ridden IOA, which was warned of a possible suspension by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) if elections are not held this month.
The elections were originally scheduled to be held in December 2021. Usha’s election to the top post was finalized last month as she was the only candidate to file nomination for the post of president.
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No one opposed Usha, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in July. PT Usha is also known as ‘Payyoli Express’ and ‘Udan Pari’.
One of the celebrated athletes from the country, PT Usha won 11 medals including four golds in the Asian Games from 1982 and 1994.
She also won four gold in the 1986 Seoul Asian Games in 200m, 400m, 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay, and also claimed silver in 100m.
The 58-year-old, also won 100m and 200m medals in the 1982 New Delhi Asian Games.
She is best known for missing out on a medal in the 400m hurdles final of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where she was defeated by Romanian Cristieana Cojocaru by a hundredth of a second.
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