Former IOA Secretary general Randhir Singh tells the Association to accede to the IOC’s terms

Randhir Singh (L)

The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) member in India, Randhir Singh, yesterday put up a request to the officials of the suspended Indian Olympic Association (IOA), asking them to accept the directive of the world’s governing body and remove all tainted officials from their ranks, reports TOI.

The message was passed on by Mr. Singh in the light out of the IOA’s stubborn insistence that the IOC had no right to dictate how the IOA should be run. It had also decided in its Special General Body meeting last month that only members who had been sentenced to punishments of two years or more would be barred from contesting the polls. The IOC wanted all members sentenced to be relieved of their duties and also prevented from contesting in the upcoming elections.

“My friends in IOA are misinformed. They don’t realise the gravity of the situation. They don’t realise that what IOC says, it has to be accepted. You can’t go against the IOC but yes, you can negotiate with them, you can discuss with them on certain other matters. It’s time a clean set-up comes into place,” said Randhir.

Mr. Singh was the IOA secretary general before the Indian body was suspended by the IOC last December.

“If it was me, I would have moved away. It’s up to them to answer it and come clear on the issue,” he said.

He also rubbished all reports that claimed that he had had a major hand in dragging India’s Olympic body into its current mess.

“It’s nothing personal about the IAO. If the IOC says that this is as per the Olympic charter, then you have to follow them,” he said.

Mr. Singh was reported to be upset at the volte-face from IOA officials and governments officials, who earlier in May had met up with representatives from the IOC and agreed to a new plan to get their house in order and get the IOA up and running again.

“Christophe de Kepper had written a letter after the meeting and in that letter, he had mentioned it very clearly that this was what you agreed upon and now you have done a u-turn on it. This is the problem which is taking place,” he said.

Asked whether the tainted officials still part of the IOA’s setup should step down, Mr. Singh said, “This is something I can’t answer. This is one question you should put to them and not me.”