Coming undone: The IOA’s infighting threatens to ruin the country’s recent sporting achievements

This article originally appeared in The Field’s newsletter, Game Points, on October 9, 2024. Sign up here to get the newsletter directly delivered to your inbox every week.

Sports administration in India has always been a messy affair. Infighting between board or council members backed by rival political powers is fairly routine.

Yet, things have never seemed as ugly as they currently are with the Indian Olympic Association – the country’s top most Olympic sports body.

When PT Usha – one of the pioneers for Indian athletics on the global stage – was elected unopposed as the Indian Olympic Association president in December 2022, it was hailed as a watershed moment for Indian sports. Not only was she the first woman to helm the IOA, but she was also the first Olympian to be elevated to the position.

The country had long wanted an athlete to head sports administration and Usha’s reign as the IOA chief was expected to turn a new leaf in Indian sporting history. But 22 months in, that tenure has been riddled with bickering and chaos.

Over the last few months, there has been a public fallout between president Usha and the IOA executive council members – a body that includes seasoned administrators and former athletes.

Typically, all differences are solved behind closed doors. But the latest fiasco, with Usha in the centre, has spilled out in the open. It has even started hurting top athletes. This is best seen in the case of skier Arif Khan, whose funds for the 2026 Winter Olympics training has been stalled.

It all began with Raghuram Iyer being appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the IOA in January. A CEO was expected to be appointed within a month after Usha took charge, but the decision was delayed by a year. Even the International Olympic Committee had rebuked the IOA for not appointing a CEO at the IOC Session in Mumbai last year.

Iyer’s appointment, with a monthly salary of Rs 20 lakh, did not sit well with the executive council. Its members have time and again raised questions about the decision privately to Usha and publicly in the media.

In the most recent saga, the executive council shot off an email to the International Olympic Committee accusing Usha of running the national federation in an “autocratic manner”.

Allegations and counter allegations have flown with Usha accusing treasurer Sahdev Yadav of corruption.

The International Olympic Committee tried to mediate through a virtual meeting recently but it reportedly ended with Usha storming out. She later wrote to the global body apologising for the meeting with no outcome.

The executive committee, meanwhile, has maintained that the public fallout is an internal matter for the IOA to solve.

The internal strife has now started to have public consequences. Reports state that the IOA currently has outstanding dues running into crores: the executive council has not ratified any payments because all meetings end in a squabble about the CEO.

In fact, even CEO Iyer has not been paid since his appointment in January. Even the IOA canteen staff have dues pending.

Things are so dire, the e-mail accounts of the IOA members were suspended last month because dues were not paid.

The squabble has also put a massive question mark on India’s ambition of hosting the 2036 Olympic Games.

Usha, on her part, has called for a Special General Meeting of the IOA executive council on October 25. A nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, she has the backing of top names from the Indian government.

Despite all of it, Usha continues to be in a precarious spot. The lack of sports administration experience seems to be causing some major challenges for the 60-year-old Padma Shri winner.

But with time running out, it is now or never for Usha and the IOA. Else, a suspension from the International Olympic Committee looks likely.

For all that the country’s athletes have achieved over the past few years, the lack of cohesion could see it all come apart.