Indian female boxer Mary Kom Elected as Chairperson Of 'Athletes Commission' Of IOA

Digital Desk: Olympic medalist Mary Kom has been unanimously chosen to lead the Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) Athletes Commission, with table tennis legend Achanta Sharath Kamal chosen to serve as vice-chair of the organisation. 

Mary Kom, PV Sindhu, and Commonwealth Games medallist Achanta Sharath Kamal were among the 10 outstanding athletes who would make up the new "Athletes Commission" of the Indian Olympic Association, it was previously reported on Monday (IOA). 

According to a news release from the IOA, Returning Officer (RO) Umesh Sinha announced the name of the commission's ten members in New Delhi on Monday.

According to the press release issued by IOA, the list includes eminent athletes including " Olympic Bronze Medalist and Padma Vibhushan boxer Mary Kom, Double Olympic medalist and Padma Bhushan awardee badminton ace PV Sindhu, Olympic medalist and Padma Shri shooter Gagan Narang, Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medalist, Padma Shri TT player Achanta Sharath Kamal, Olympian and CWG gold medalist Padma Shri rower Bajrang Lal, Khel Ratna awardee and Olympic silver medalist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, Khel Ratna awardee and Olympian Rani Rampal, Asian Cup Gold winner and Olympian Shiva Keshavan, Olympian and CWG Fencing championship gold medalist and Arjuna Awardee Bhavani Devi and Om Prakash Karhana made way to the Athletes' Commission, uncontested." 

The elected members were to choose a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson from among themselves, as well as eight athletes of exceptional merit (SOMs). The deadline for submitting an application for SOMs is November 15, 2022, at 4 p.m. 

The SOMs, along with the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Athletes' Commission, will form the electoral college for the IOA President's election, which will take place on December 10, 2022. 

The Athletes' Commission's electoral college was made up of 42 athletes nominated by 36 National Sports Federations. Nominations were accepted until 5 p.m. on November 13, 2022, after which the RO issued a tentative list same evening.

Nominated athletes had until 12 p.m. on November 14, 2022, to remove their names, after which a finals list would be published for voting to elect the remaining candidates. The Athletes' Commission was elected on November 14th. Following the withdrawal of 32 athletes' names on the morning of November 14th, 10 competitors remained in the running for 10 positions on the IOA's Athletes' Commission.

On examination, it was discovered that the ten candidates on the final list of candidates met the requirements of the IOA charter's categories and subcategories, specifically sections 2A and 2B, which state that 1) the candidate must have competed in at least one of the last three Olympic Games or 2) won a medal at the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, or National Games. 

The ten candidates were named the uncontested winners and members of the IOA's new Athletes' Commission. The Returning Officer distributed the election certificates.