PT Usha finished fifth in the Indian Olympic Association’s Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit vote, missing out on one of four women’s seats. Anju Bobby George, Rani Rampal, Dola Banerjee and Saina Nehwal were elected, and Usha has alleged fraud and appealed to the Prime Minister and the IOC.
New Delhi, India: The woman who has led Indian Olympic sport since December 2022 lost a vote among her own sporting peers on Monday, and she was calling it a fraud before the day was out. PT Usha polled 40 in the women’s Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOM) election, fifth among six candidates for four seats, and the result has left the run-up to the Indian Olympic Association’s 5 December Executive Council elections in uncertainty.
The tallies
Anju Bobby George topped the poll with 53 votes. Rani Rampal followed with 50, Dola Banerjee with 45 and Saina Nehwal with 43, taking the four seats. Usha’s 40 left her three votes short of Nehwal, and Anitha Paul Durai polled six.
The men’s seats had been settled on Saturday, when eight of the twelve contenders withdrew and Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt, Vijender Singh and Kamlesh Mehta were returned unopposed. The eight SOM representatives join the IOA General Assembly, can vote in the Executive Council elections and can contest them, and one man and one woman among them will also take Executive Council places.
Usha remains IOA president. Her route onto the 5 December ballot, however, now depends on a national sports federation nominating her, which reports describe as unlikely.
Usha’s allegations
Speaking to The Tribune on Monday, Usha called the election a farce and alleged that a fraud had been carried out to remove her from the presidency. She said more than 25 voters had told her they gave her a single preference, which in her view made George’s total mathematically impossible. She also said the four winners had campaigned together under a “Bharat Panel” banner, citing a WhatsApp message.
Her complaints named executive committee members Bhupinder Singh Bajwa and Yogeshwar Dutt for allegedly soliciting votes improperly, and Badminton Association of India secretary Sanjay Mishra for allegedly asking athletes to show email acknowledgements of their votes. She accused returning officer Sanjay Kumar Srivastava of failing to act on at least four complaints about code-of-conduct breaches, and said voters were told that the Prime Minister’s Office or the sports minister wanted a particular outcome.
Where it goes next
Usha has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and has complained to the International Olympic Committee. She said Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had not signalled any action and that Home Minister Amit Shah had told her he would speak to him. No response from the IOA, the candidates or officials she named, the returning officer, the IOC or the government had been reported when this article was prepared. The allegations are hers and have not been independently verified.
The vote follows the unopposed election of ten members to the IOA Athletes’ Commission last week. The Executive Council election on 5 December, for the 2026–2030 term, is the next test. Reports have mentioned Nehwal’s name in discussions about a possible challenge for the presidency, though no candidacy has been formally established.
Women’s SOM result (four seats): Anju Bobby George 53, Rani Rampal 50, Dola Banerjee 45, Saina Nehwal 43 (elected); PT Usha 40, Anitha Paul Durai 6. Men’s SOM: Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt, Vijender Singh and Kamlesh Mehta (elected unopposed).
