PV Sindhu to head the IOA Athletes’ Commission, Harmanpreet Singh has been appointed as the Vice-Chairman

Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu has been appointed as the chairman of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Athletes’ Commission, with Indian men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh as the vice-chairman. Weightlifting star Mirabai Chanu and swimmer Sajan Prakash were also elected as athlete representatives to the IOA general body.

All four appointments were confirmed without objection on Friday after emerging as the only candidates for their respective positions. Returning Officer Sanjay K Srivastava declared them elected, making it unnecessary to conduct the polls scheduled for Saturday, November 7.

Sindhu and Harmanpreet, both two-time Olympic medalists, were the only candidates to file nominations for the posts of chairman and vice-chairman. According to IOA rules, these two posts must be filled by one male and one female athlete.

Both will also become members of the IOA Executive Council, which will be established after the National Olympic Body elections on 5 December. Their terms along with Chanu and Sajan will last for four years from 2026 to 2030.

Chanu and Sajan were similarly elected unopposed as the two representatives of the Athletes’ Commission at the IOA General Assembly. Positions are reserved for one athlete and one athlete, both of whom are the only nominees in their respective categories.

Their appointment also means that Chanu and Sajan will be eligible to vote in the December 5 IOA elections.

In a notification issued on Friday, Returning Officer Srivastava confirmed that Sindhu and Harmanpreet were elected without a vote. The announcement also stated that Chanu and Sajan would become representatives to the General Assembly without having to participate in the voting process.

“The election of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman of the IOA Executive Council and two representatives of the Athletes’ Commission at the IOA General Assembly, one man and one woman, as planned for November 7, 2026, will serve no purpose as there is only one candidate against one post in each category,” the notice said.

Candidates for chairman and vice-chairman had to come from the six-member Olympic category of the athletes’ commission, consisting of athletes who participated in at least one of the last three years of the Olympic Games.

Sindhu, Harmanpreet among 10 elected unopposed

The latest appointment follows the election of 10 athletes as members of the IOA Athletes’ Commission on 3 November. Sindhu, Harmanpreet, Chanu and Sajan were among those declared elected unopposed after former athlete Sudha Singh withdrew from the contest.

With 10 candidates remaining for the 10 available positions, including five reserved for male athletes and five for female athletes, the returning officer declared all elected without a vote.

Other members of the committee include Indian hockey captain Salima Tete, shooter Swapnil Kusale, fencer Bhavani Devi, shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, former archer Bombayla Devi and kayaker Manjeet Singh.

Winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan and shooter Rajeshwari Kumari, who are members of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Athletes Commission, will be ex-officio members of the IOA panel.

For Sindhu, Chana and Bhavani Devi, these appointments also mark the continuation of their involvement in representing athletes. All three were part of the previous IOA Athletes’ Commission, which was headed by former world boxing champion MC Mary Kom.

The new commission will represent athletes within the Indian Olympic administrative structure and its leadership will be formed ahead of the IOA elections on December 5.

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