What's the story?
Anurag Thakur, who on Monday was sacked as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) by the Supreme Court on charges of perjury, has now been unanimously elected as the president of Himachal Pradesh Olympic Association (HPOA) for a four-year term.
According to a statement released by the HPOA, "The newly-elected members deliberated on how to improve the quality of sports in the state which has an immense pool of talent but is not doing well due to the lack of quality infrastructure and a concrete policy for the development of the same."
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Thakur is the son of former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Prem Kumar Dhumal. The 42-year-old politician was elected as the BCCI president in May 2016 after Shashank Manohar was promoted to Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
In 2011, he was elected BCCI joint secretary after spending more than ten years as president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA). Winner of the Best Young Parliamentarian Award in 2011, Thakur even played a Ranji Trophy match against Jammu & Kashmir during his time as the president of HPCA.
The heart of the matter
Virender Kanwar was elected Senior Vice-President, while vice president of the Indian Boxing Federation (IBF) Rajesh Bhandari was elected as General Secretary of the state Olympics association. Observers in the poll included hockey coach NP Gulleria, and Ratan Lal Thakur. Surat Singh Thakur was the returning officer while Nirwan Mukherjee was the observer from the Indian Olympic Association.
Thakur has also appointed a three-member ad-hoc committee to run cricketing affairs. The committee includes Anurag's younger brother Arun Singh Dhumal, cricketer RP Singh and politician, Yudisthir Katoch.
What's next
The association has decided to organise the State Olympic Festival along the lines of the National Games. The Games will be held at Hamirpur from June 23 to 26. The HPOA have also planned on having a Himachal Olympic Bhawan at Shimla.
Sportskeeda's Take
After being sacked as the president of BCCI, Thakur's administrative career in cricket is on the edge. Thus, amidst all conflicts and rumours, it is great to see him keep his head straight and focus on his duty as the President of Himachal Pradesh Olympics Association.
