Indian Olympic Association
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) or Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international athletic meets and for managing the Indian teams at these events. It plays with the name of Team India. It also acts as the Indian Commonwealth Games Association, responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Commonwealth Games.[2]
Early history
Background and early years: The background behind the creation of the Indian Olympic Association was related to India's participation in the 1920 and 1924 Olympics. After the 1920 Games, the committee sending the team to these games met, and, on the advice of Sir Dorab Tata, invited Dr. Noehren (Physical Education Director of YMCA India) to be secretary, along with AS Bhagwat, of the provisional Indian Olympic Committee; Dorab Tata would serve as its president. Subsequently, in 1923–24, a provisional All India Olympic Committee was formed, and the All India Olympic Games (that later became the National Games of India) were held in Feb 1924. Eight athletes from these games were selected to represent India at the 1924 Paris Olympics, accompanied by manager Harry Crowe Buck. This gave impetus to the development and institutionalization of sports in India, and, in 1927, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), was created at the initiative of Harry Crowe Buck and Dr. A. G. Noehren (both of the Madras (YMCA) College of Physical Education).[3] Sir Dorab Tata was important in financing and supporting the movement and became the first Indian Olympic Association president in 1927. Messrs Buck and Noehren travelled across India and helped many states organise their Olympic associations. Noehren was the first Secretary and G. D. Sondhi was the first assistant secretary of the Indian Olympic Association, and, after Noehren resigned in 1938, Sondhi and S.M. Moinul Haq became the Secretary and Joint Secretary of the Indian Olympic Association.
And so the Indian Olympic Association was formed in 1927, and since that year was officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee as India's national Olympic organisation.[1] In 1928, Maharaja Bhupindra Singh took over as Indian Olympic Association president.[4]
Early tasks:
- Sending Teams to the Olympics: In its first decade, the Indian Olympic Association selected sportspersons to represent India at the Olympic Games in 1928, 1932, and 1936. Subsequently, by 1946–47, the Indian Olympic Association took responsibility only to send the Indian team to the Olympics (principally, this meant arranging transport, board, and accommodation), while the separate federations for each sport were responsible for selecting and training competitors for their sport. Reflecting this, ahead of the 1948 Olympics, the IOA Council agreed that a team representing athletics, swimming, weight lifting, wrestling, boxing, football, and hockey, with officials for each of these sports, and a Chief Manager, would be entered for the 1948 Olympics. And so, from 1948 onward, India began sending teams representing several sports – each selected by its respective sports federation – to the Olympics.
- Securing Funding: One of the Indian Olympic Association's main early challenges was to secure funding, so that it could send the national team to the Olympics and finance the related costs of transport, room, and board. It obtained funding from the Indian government, from the state governments, and from various state sports federations.
Illustrating this, IOA President Yadavindra Singh's appeal for funding in 1948 stated: "We need about 3 Lacs of rupees to finance" the Indian Olympic team for the London Olympics; that "the youth taking part in these games become ambassadors of goodwill" for India; and that "careful selection, intensive training and proper equipment is most essential" to field a competitive team, but that the Indian Olympic Association is "greatly handicapped for want of sufficient funds" for these tasks.[5]
The Indian Olympic Association thus undertook wider outreach with several national sports federations, and essentially became a clearing house that coordinated the sending of multiple sports teams – each selected by their respective sports federations – to the Olympics.
- The National Games: The Indian Olympic Association had one other major responsibility: that of holding the biennial National Games (Indian Olympics). It recognised, in the 1920s-1940s, that the promotion of sports in India needed a National Games, because there was no overall national sports federation of India. Instead, there were separate national federations for each sport, such as athletics, swimming, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, weightlifting, cycling, boxing, football. These sports federations essentially held their national championships at the Indian National Games.
IOA Presidents
| S.No. | Name | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sir Dorabji Tata | 1927–1928 |
| 2. | Maharaja Bhupinder Singh | 1928–1938 |
| 3. | Maharaja Yadavindra Singh | 1938–1960 |
| 4. | Bhalindra Singh | 1960–1975 |
| 5. | Om Prakash Mehra | 1975–1980 |
| 6. | Bhalindra Singh | 1980–1984 |
| 7. | Vidya Charan Shukla | 1984–1987 |
| 8. | Sivanthi Adithan | 1987–1996 |
| 9. | Suresh Kalmadi | 1996–2011 |
| 10. | Vijay Kumar Malhotra * | 26 April 2011 – 5 December 2012 |
| 11. | Abhay Singh Chautala | 5 December 2012 – 9 February 2014 |
| 12. | Narayana Ramachandran | 9 February 2014 – 14 December 2017 |
| 13. | Narinder Dhruv Batra | 14 December 2017 – 25 May 2022 |
| 14. | Anil Khanna* | 25 May 2022 – 21 August 2022 |
| 15. | Adille Sumariwalla* | 27 August 2022 – 10 December 2022 |
| 16. | P. T. Usha[6] | 10 December 2022 – present[7] |
* Acting
IOA Secretary Generals
| S. No. | Name | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | A. G. Noehren | 1927–1938 |
| 2. | Guru Dutt Sondhi | 1938–1952 |
| 3. | Moin-ul-Haq | 1952–1956 |
| 4. | Ashwini Kumar | 1956–1960 |
| 5. | Pankaj Gupta | 1960–1970 |
| 6. | Ashwini Kumar | 1970–1974 |
| 7. | J. C. Paliwal | 1974–1975 |
| 8. | Air Vice Marshal C. L. Mehta | 1976–1986 |
| 9. | Roshan Lal Anand | 1986–1987 |
| 10. | Randhir Singh | 1987–2012 |
| 11. | Lalit Bhanot | 2012–2014 |
| 12. | Rajeev Mehta | 2014–2022 |
IOA Executive Council
Following is the IOA Executive Committee for the 2022–2026 term.[8]
| Designation | Name | National Sports Federation / State Olympic Committee |
|---|---|---|
| President | P. T. Usha | Athletes Commission of the IOA |
| Senior Vice-President | Ajay Patel | National Rifle Association of India |
| Vice-Presidents | Rajlaxmi Singh Deo | Rowing Federation of India |
| Gagan Narang | Athletes Commission of the IOA | |
| Treasurer | Sahdev Yadav | Indian Weightlifting Federation |
| Joint Secretaries | Kalyan Chaubey | All India Football Federation |
| Alaknanda Ashok | Badminton Association of India | |
| Executive Council Members | Amitabh Sharma | Ice Skating Association of India |
| Bhupender Singh Bajwa | Wushu Association of India | |
| Lt. Gen. Harpal Singh | Indian Golf Union | |
| Rohit Rajpal | Athletes Commission of the IOA | |
| Dola Banerjee | Athletes Commission of the IOA | |
| Yogeshwar Dutt | Athletes Commission of the IOA | |
| Athletes' Commission Members | Mary Kom | NA |
| Sharath Kamal | NA |
State Olympic Associations
- Andaman and Nicobar Olympic Association
- Andhra Pradesh Olympic Association
- Arunachal Pradesh Olympic Association
- Assam Olympic Association
- Bihar Olympic Association
- Chandigarh Olympic Association
- Chhattisgarh Olympic Association
- Delhi Olympic Association
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Olympic Association
- Goa Olympic Association
- Gujarat State Olympic Association
- Haryana Olympic Association
- Himachal Pradesh Olympic Association
- Jammu and Kashmir Olympic Association
- Jharkhand Olympic Association
- Karnataka Olympic Association
- Kerala Olympic Association
- Madhya Pradesh Olympic Association
- Maharashtra Olympic Association
- Manipur Olympic Association
- Meghalaya State Olympic Association
- Mizoram Olympic Association
- Nagaland Olympic Association
- Odisha Olympic Association
- Pondicherry Olympic Association
- Punjab Olympic Association
- Rajasthan Olympic Association
- Sikkim Olympic Association
- Tamil Nadu Olympic Association
- Olympic Association of Telangana
- Tripura State Olympic Association
- Uttarakhand Olympic Association
- Uttar Pradesh Olympic Association
- West Bengal Olympic Association
- Railways Sports Promotion Board
- Services Sports Control Board
National Sports Federations
National sports federations are categorized in two categories i.e. Olympic Sports and Other Recognized Sports
The IOC's membership currently includes 38 National Sports Federations.[9]
IOC Permanent Olympic Sports
IOC Winter Olympic Sports
These all sports are under the Winter Games Federation of India.
| Sport | National Federation |
|---|---|
| Ice Hockey | Ice Hockey Association of India |
| Ice Skating | Ice Skating Association of India |
| Luge | Indian Amateur Luge Association |
IOC recognized sports
Others
Following are some sports which IOC does not recognise as a Sport.
| Sport | National Federation |
|---|---|
| Arm Wrestling | Indian Arm Wrestling Federation |
| Kabaddi | Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India |
| Kho Kho | Kho Kho Federation of India |
| Yachting | Yachting Association of India |
Disputes
On 26 April 2011, after the arrest of its president Suresh Kalmadi, Vijay Kumar Malhotra was the acting president of the IOA up to 5 December 2012.[10] The election of Lalit Bhanot as Secretary General was considered controversial by some due to his alleged involvement in the Commonwealth Games Scam.[11]
On 4 December 2012, the International Olympic Committee suspended the IOA on the basis of corruption, government interference, and not following guidelines of the IOC. Several members of the IOA have been charged with crimes.[12][13] The IOA was formally banned for not following the Olympic Charter in their elections, instead following the Indian government's Sports Code. The IOA held elections under the Indian Sports Code due to a directive from the Delhi High Court.[14] On 15 May 2013, International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to lift the ban on the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as Indian representatives from the government and sports bodies reached an agreement with IOC officials.[15] India still did not have its three competitors play under the national flag at the Winter 2014 Olympics. On 9 February, an election was held to choose a head of the IOA. Abhay Singh Chautala and Lalit Bhanot were ineligible due to having court charges against them. With the support of Abhay Singh Chautala, the president of the World Squash Federation, Narayana Ramachandran, was instead elected.[16]
On 11 February 2014, the International Olympic Committee revoked the ban enforced on Indian Olympic Association. As a result, India returned to the Olympic fold after 14-months.[17]
Multi-sport events hosted by IOA
Social media
The IOA is present on social media, with the Press Office of the Committee running an official Facebook[18] page, as well as Twitter[19] and Instagram[20] accounts.
The IOA debuted a new logo and new campaign tag #EkIndiaTeamIndia in 2020, this was celebrated on India's independence day 15 August 2020.[21] The previous logo was created in 1924 at the inception of the IOA, the logo emphasized the Star of India. Through symbols of the Tiraṅgā the new logo celebrates the pride, dignity and lifetime of determined hard work given by India's finest athletes.[22] The logo was created by Smitten an international design firm founded in Chennai by Smita Rajgopal.[23][24]
Recognition of athletes and coaches
From the 2016 Summer Olympics, Olympic medallists and their coaches have been given advance consideration for the National Sports Awards if they have not already received one.[25]
As of 2021, the Indian Olympic Association recognises Olympic medallists with the following cash prizes: ₹7.5 million (US$94,000) for gold medallists, ₹4 million (US$50,000) for silver and ₹2.5 million (US$31,000) for bronze. Coaches of Olympic medallists receive ₹1.25 million (US$16,000), ₹1 million (US$13,000) and ₹0.75 million (US$9,400), respectively.[26]
National level
Olympic medallists are rewarded by the Government of India with the following cash prizes as of 2021: ₹7.5 million (US$94,000) for gold medallists, ₹5 million (US$63,000) for silver and ₹3 million (US$38,000) for bronze.[27]
State and union territory level
At the state/territorial level, Olympians receive cash awards of various amounts, depending on their home region.
- Monetary awards for Olympians and coaches by state/territory (as of 2021)
| State/Union Territory | Gold medal | Silver medal | Bronze medal | Olympic qualifier | Coach of gold medallist | Coach of silver medallist | Coach of bronze medallist | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | ₹7.5 million (US$94,000) | ₹5 million (US$63,000) | ₹3 million (US$38,000) | ₹0.5 million (US$6,300) | - | - | - | [28][29] |
| Assam | ₹10 million (US$130,000) | ₹7.5 million (US$94,000) | ₹5 million (US$63,000) | ₹0.5 million (US$6,300) | ₹1 million (US$13,000) | ₹0.5 million (US$6,300) | ₹0.3 million (US$3,800) | [30] |
| Chandigarh | ₹60 million (US$750,000) | ₹40 million (US$500,000) | ₹25 million (US$310,000) | - | - | - | - | [27] |
| Chhattisgarh | ₹60 million (US$750,000) | ₹40 million (US$500,000) | ₹25 million (US$310,000) | - | - | - | - | [27] |
| Delhi | ₹30 million (US$380,000) | ₹20 million (US$250,000) | ₹10 million (US$130,000) | - | - | - | - | [27] |
| Goa | ₹10 million (US$130,000) | - | - | - | - | - | - | [31] |
| Gujarat | ₹50 million (US$630,000) | - | - | ₹1 million (US$13,000) | - | - | - | [27][32] |
| Haryana | ₹60 million (US$750,000) | ₹40 million (US$500,000) | ₹25 million (US$310,000) | ₹0.5 million (US$6,300) | - | - | - | [27][33] |
| Himachal Pradesh | ₹20 million (US$250,000) | - | - | - | - | - | - | [31] |
| Jammu and Kashmir | ₹5 million (US$63,000) | - | - | - | - | - | - | [31] |
| Jharkhand | ₹20 million (US$250,000) | - | - | - | - | - | - | [31] |
| Karnataka | ₹50 million (US$630,000) | - | - | - | - | - | - | [27] |
| Kerala | ₹10 million (US$130,000) | - | - | - | - | - | - | [31] |
| Maharashtra | ₹10 million (US$130,000) | ₹7.5 million (US$94,000) | ₹5 million (US$63,000) | - | - | - | - | [31] |
| Manipur | ₹12 million (US$150,000) | ₹10 million (US$130,000) | ₹7.5 million (US$94,000) | - | - | - | - | [34] |
| Meghalaya | ₹7.5 million (US$94,000) | - | - | - | - | - | - | [31] |
| Odisha | ₹60 million (US$750,000) | ₹40 million (US$500,000) | ₹25 million (US$310,000) | - | - | - | - | [27] |
| Punjab | ₹22.5 million (US$280,000) | - | - | ₹0.5 million (US$6,300) | - | - | - | [31] |
| Rajasthan | ₹30 million (US$380,000) | - | - | - | - | - | - | [31] |
| Sikkim | ₹30 million (US$380,000) | - | - | - | - | - | - | [31] |
| Tamil Nadu | ₹30 million (US$380,000) | ₹20 million (US$250,000) | ₹10 million (US$130,000) | ₹0.5 million (US$6,300) | - | - | - | [35] |
| Telangana | ₹20 million (US$250,000) | - | - | - | - | - | - | [31] |
| Uttarakhand | ₹15 million (US$190,000) | - | - | - | - | - | - | [31] |
| Uttar Pradesh | ₹60 million (US$750,000) | ₹40 million (US$500,000) | ₹20 million (US$250,000) | - | - | - | - | [27] |
| West Bengal | ₹2.5 million (US$31,000) | ₹1.5 million (US$19,000) | ₹1 million (US$13,000) | - | - | - | - | [31] |
See also
References
- ^ . Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ . Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
- ^ Dr A G Noehren was National Physical Education Director of the YMCAs in India, and H C Buck was Principal of the National YMCA school of physical education in Madras
- ^ Sharma, V. K. Physical Education Class 12. Saraswati House Pvt Ltd. p. 57. ISBN 978-93-5041-921-2.
- ^ Appeal by Yadavindra Singh, President, Indian Olympic Association, 1948
- ^ "Legendary athlete PT Usha elected as first woman president of IOA". livemint.com. 10 December 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
- ^ "PT Usha becomes first woman president of IOA". www.timesofindia.com. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
- ^ "INDIAN OLYMPIC ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE COUNCIL". Indian Olympic Association. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- ^ "Member Units". Indian Olympic Association. from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ "Kalmadi has not been removed: Malhotra". Deccan Herald. 27 April 2011. from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ^ "Abhay Chautala becomes IOA President, Lalit Bhanot named Secretary General". Webindia123.com. Suni System (Pvt) Ltd. 30 November 2012. from the original on 8 December 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
- ^ "India outrage over IOA suspension from Olympics". BBC News. 5 December 2012. from the original on 21 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
- ^ "IOC wants fresh polls before it lifts ban on Indian Olympic Association". Yahoo! Sports Canada. The Canadian Press. 15 January 2013. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013.
- ^ PTI (4 December 2012). . The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
- ^ Srinivasan, Kamesh (16 May 2013). "IOC agrees to take India back in Olympic fold". The Hindu. Chennai, India. from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ "IOA polls on Sunday, India likely to return to Olympic fold". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014.
- ^ "India's Olympic exile ends as IOC revokes IOA's ban". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Times of India. 11 February 2014. from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ^ "Indian Olympic on Facebook". Facebook.
- ^ "Indian Olympic on Twitter". Twitter. from the original on 25 February 2018.
- ^ "Indian Olympic on Instagram". Instagram.
- ^ "Indian Olympic Association reveals new logo". Olympic Council of Asia. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ "IOA adopts new identity on its 100-year milestone at Olympic Games". Sportstar. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ "IOA urges NSFs, SOAs to update websites with its new logo". The Times of India. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ "Smita Rajgopal, an engineer with MBA degree, opts for graphic designing as her career". The Economic Times. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ "Olympic medallists to be considered for Khel Ratna: Sports Ministry". Scroll.in. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Tokyo Olympics: Coaches of gold winners to get ₹12.5 lakh from IOA, Chanu coach to get ₹10 lakh". Hindustan Times. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Basu, Hindol (23 July 2021). "Tokyo Olympics: Indians to get highest cash award for winning medals". Times of India. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Andhra Pradesh Government Announces Rs 30 Lakh Cash Reward for PV Sindhu". News18. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ Pandey, Ashish (30 June 2021). "Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy gives Rs 5 lakh each to Olympic-bound athletes from state". India Today. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Integrated Sports Policy of Assam" (PDF). Government of Assam. 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Sharma, Nitin (12 July 2021). "Rs 6 crore or Rs 25 lakh for Olympics gold? Home state key to cash prize". The Indian Express. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Gujarat: Women Tokyo Olympics participants to get Rs 10 lakh each from govt". IndiaTV. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ Saini, Manvir (10 February 2021). "Gujarat: Women Tokyo Olympics participants to get Rs 10 lakh each from govt". Times of India. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ Leivon, Jimmy (28 June 2021). "Manipur govt announces Rs. 1.2 crore to athletes who win gold in Tokyo Olympics". Indian Express. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announces Rs 3 crore to Olympic gold medallists from Tamil Nadu". Times of India. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
External links
- Official website 5 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine