IOA president PT Usha accuses Sports Ministry officials of hiding facts from Mandaviya

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha has written a scathing letter to Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, accusing Sports Ministry officials of undermining the spirit of fair play and good governance. Usha claims that the officials have been hiding true facts from the minister.

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Usha, who was responding to ministry’s letter that said IOA’s recognition of Indian Golf Union (IGU) led by Harish Shetty will not withstand legal scrutiny, said the letter issued was “procedurally incorrect and reflects a lack of verification of the facts on record and a complete non application of mind by the Under Secretary”.

“Sir, since I have assumed office in IOA, it has become more and more apparent that the staff of the ministry deliberately never appraises the true and correct facts to the Hon’ble Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports,” the Rajya Sabha MP wrote.

Two factions – one led by IGU president Brijender Singh and other led by secretary general Shetty – held two different elections. While IOA gave recognition to the Shetty faction, the ministry recognised the other group.

However, Usha said, the body recognised by the ministry “did not meet the quorum requirements as stipulated under Article 22 of the IGU Constitution”.

“This specific provision mandates the presence of a minimum 10 State Golf Associations (SGAs) for a valid Annual General Meeting (AGM),” Usha said in her response.

“It is on record that AGM and election of IGU held under Justice OP Garg (retd) held on December 15, 2024, at Olympic Bhavan in New Delhi had an attendance of 21 out of the total 31 SGAs. Therefore, since the requisite quorum was met and a valid meeting held in accordance with the bylaws/constitution of IGU, IOA has deemed the election of the office bearers of IGU at this meeting as valid and accorded recognition to the new office bearers of IGU,” she added.

Double standards

Further, Usha has criticised the ministry for acting against federations, including Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), which is an attempt to interfere with the autonomy of national sports federations.

“Sir, I must also bring to your attention the inconsistency displayed in the ministry’s actions. While the recognition of this IGU faction has been expedited based on incomplete report, the elections of WFI, conducted in December 2023 under the orders of the apex court and duly recognised by International Federation of Wrestling, i.e. United World Wrestling (UWW) and also by IOA, continue to face delays in recognition by the ministry,” she wrote.

“WFI has continued to select and send its teams for all international events of UWW and the Olympic Games, despite the ministry still holding back its recognition for unknown reasons since December 2023. This has been nothing but an attempt to interfere in the autonomy of NSFs by MYAS, despite there being many warnings by UWW and IOC, including clear directions to IOA not to interfere in the WFI affairs and no ad-hoc committee for WFI shall be recognised by UWW and IOC,” she added.

Finally, she has requested the ministry to withdraw the letter that granted recognition to the Singh-led faction.

“In light of these issues, I urge the ministry to take corrective action to ensure adherence to the principles of transparency, accountability, and compliance with the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011, and recall its letter dated December 28, 2024, granting recognition to the illegal elections to the faction of IGU, which did not meet the mandatory quorum for conduct of an AGM as required by its own Constitution. The selective application of norm undermines the credibility of sports governance in India and the spirit of fair play that we aim to uphold,” she said.