Gagan Narang, PT Usha, Saina Nehwal among 27 names in proposed list for IOA SOM elections

Gagan Narang, PT Usha, Saina Nehwal among 27 names in proposed list for IOA SOM elections NEW DELHI: Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Electoral Officer (RO) Sanjay K. Srivastava has released the draft list of nominations for the 2026 Athletes of Exceptional Merit (SOM) election, which has 27 candidates, including several prominent names from Indian sports.There are 15 male and 12 female candidates on the list issued by the election office on Saturday. The SOM elections are scheduled to take place on November 9.Among the candidates named in the document are Olympic medalists and renowned sports figures, including current IOA president PT Usha, Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt, Vijender Singh, Dola Banerjee and Anju Bobby George.Among the male candidates who have come through from the previous list of 40 names are Mansher Singh, Surinder Singh Shokar, Gagan Narang, Moraad Ali Khan, Kamlesh Mehta, Sathish Kumar Sivalingam, Yogeshwar Dutt, Ronjan Sodhi, B Sai Praneeth, Sardar Singh, Ajenetmeth, B Sugarath, B. Adille Sumariwalla and Om Prakash Singh Karhana.The women candidates are Dola Banerjee, Ashwini Nachappa, Chekrovolu Swuro, Neelam Setti Laxmi, PT Usha, Rani, Ragina Kiro, Saina Nehwal, Trupti Murgunde, Anitha Paul Durai, Anju Bobby George and Sunith Singh.Previously issued nomination instructions may result in some nominations being deemed invalid. Each person on the SOM list was required to propose or second only one candidate per gender category. If two nominations share a proposer or second nominee, the latter is “deemed rejected”. The draft sheet shows that the rule was broken twice in the men’s category.

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Share an opinionShivendra Singh, No. 22 on the men’s list, is seconded by Surinder Singh Shokar and Sardar Singh. Saina Nehwal, No. 1 in the women’s rankings, suggests Sai Praneeth and is seconded by Sumeeth Reddy. Both are male nominations. Unless the election commissioner reads the rule differently when checking, one nomination in each pair should fall.The list also shows how tightly the field has organized itself. Mutual support is not against the rules. Mansher Singh and Moraad Ali Khan proposed to each other. Saina, Sai Praneeth and Sumeeth Reddy form a closed triangle with each suggesting or supporting the other two. PT Usha seconds Kamlesh Mehta and proposes Ashwini Nachappa while Ronjan Sodhi and Mehta propose each other. Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt, Vijender Singh and Dola Banerjee complement each other in a similar circle.Objections and scrutiny follow before the final shortlist and vote on November 9.