IOA replaces deputy chefs de mission ahead of Asian Games 2023 

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) replaced all four deputy chefs de mission that was appointed by the dispensation, headed by Narinder Batra. The decision was made before the Asian Games 2023, which is set to take place later this month in Hangzhou. However, Wushu Association of India chief Bhupender Singh Bajwa, who was roped in by Batra, has been retained.

The new deputy chefs de mission are Dola Banerjee, the Commonwealth Games gold-medal archer, former hockey player MM Somaya, former sprinter Purukottam Ramachandran and Ravinder Chaudhary, the secretary-general of the Athletics Federation of India.

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IOA are the better people to decide: Narinder Batra

Batra, who is also the former president of Hockey India and the International Hockey Federation, explained the rationale behind the decisions. He said that the IOA was well within their rights to make the changes.

"They (the new IOA officials) are the people in position. They are the better people to decide, who needs to go and who need not go. They have every right to do that, there is no problem in that," Batra was quoted as saying to Press Trust of India (PTI).

The previous deputy chefs de mission, appointed by Batra, consisted of Gurudatta Bhakta, the secretary general of the Goa Olympic Association, Ajay Kumar Singhania, the secretary general of the Badminton Association of India, Swapna Banerjee, the president of the Bengal Olympic Association, and Hariom Kaushik, the executive board member of the Netball Federation of India.

The association also brought in a change last December when it named legendary sprinter PT Usha as the head of the National Olympic Committee, taking over from Yadavindra Singh.

The Asian Games are scheduled to start on Sept. 23 and India are set to send 634 members to the tournament.