PT Usha loses IOA SOM election; Saina Nehwal and Anju Bobby George elected
Four women win Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit seats ahead of the IOA Executive Council polls on December 5.
PT Usha has lost the women’s Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit election in the Indian Olympic Association. Anju Bobby George, Saina Nehwal, Rani Rampal and Dola Banerjee won the four seats.
Key takeaways
- PT Usha received 40 votes and failed to win a women’s SOM seat.
- Anju Bobby George topped the poll with 53 votes, followed by Rani Rampal with 50.
- Dola Banerjee received 45 votes and Saina Nehwal received 43.
- Anitha Paul Durai secured six votes out of 80 polled.
- Elected SOM representatives can vote and contest in the December 5 Executive Council elections.
Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha lost the women’s Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit election, failing to secure one of the four available seats in New Delhi.
Former athletes Anju Bobby George, Saina Nehwal, Rani Rampal and Dola Banerjee were elected instead, with George topping the poll at 53 votes, followed by Rampal at 50, Banerjee at 45 and Nehwal at 43.
Usha received 40 votes, while former basketball player Anitha Paul Durai secured six votes out of 80 polled. Six candidates contested the women’s category.
What the SOM election means
The Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit elections form part of the IOA’s electoral process for the 2026-2030 term. Elected representatives become members of the IOA General Assembly, gaining the right to vote and contest in the association’s Executive Council elections scheduled for December 5.
The four male SOM representatives — Olympic medallists Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt and Vijender Singh, and former table tennis player Kamlesh Mehta — had already been elected unopposed after other contenders withdrew.
What happens next
The IOA will hold its Executive Council elections on December 5 to determine the composition of the body that will lead Indian sport during the 2026-2030 term. The newly elected SOM representatives will be eligible to vote and contest in those polls.
The result deals a setback to the incumbent IOA president ahead of the December 5 Executive Council elections, but does not by itself rule her out of the presidential contest.
About the elected athletes
Anju Bobby George is an Indian former long jumper who won bronze at the 2003 World Championships, becoming the first Indian athlete to win a medal at the World Championships jumping 6.70 metres. She later won gold at the World Athletics Final in 2005. Saina Nehwal is an Olympic medallist in badminton. Rani Rampal is a former India hockey captain. Dola Banerjee is a world champion in archery.
Women’s SOM election votes
Candidate | Sport | Votes |
|---|---|---|
Anju Bobby George | Athletics | 53 |
Rani Rampal | Hockey | 50 |
Dola Banerjee | Archery | 45 |
Saina Nehwal | Badminton | 43 |
PT Usha | Athletics | 40 |
Anitha Paul Durai | Basketball | 6 |
Related on Apex Sports News
Vijender Singh, Gagan Narang among four athletes elected unopposed as IOA male SOMs
PV Sindhu named IOA Athletes Commission chairperson, Harmanpreet deputy
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