BOMBAY-ADDA
FINALLY INDIAN ATHLETES CAN WALK WITH AN INDIAN FLAG.
Ousted from the Olympic movement due to tainted officials and government interference more than a year ago, India's exile came to an end on Tuesday after the IOC welcomed the country back into the fold within days of fresh elections in the scam-riddled IOA. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has revoked the ban imposed on Indian Olympic Association (IOA), paving the way for India’s return to the Olympic fold. The decision comes just days after IOA held elections as per IOC directives.
Under pressure from IOC and India's sports ministry to adhere to the Olympic Charter and bar charge sheeted officials from contesting elections, the IOA had conducted its polls on Sunday. N. Ramachandran - brother of Board of Control for Cricket in India boss N. Srinivasan - was elected unopposed as president of IOA. Ramachandran had said upon his appointment that his main objective was to have the Indian flag at the Sochi Winter Olympics -
a goal which is now achieved as the the flag will be unfurled at the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics currently underway in Russia. Three Indian athletes including Shiva Keshavan are competing and they will walk out with the Indian flag.
The news also comes as a huge relief for Indian athletes as they will now be able to represent the country in big events slated for this year including the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and Asian Games. The entire controversy had erupted when India were suspended by the IOC in December 2012 for electing tainted men like Lalit Bhanot (secretary general) and Abhay Singh Chautala (president). IOC insisted that IOA must adhere to the Olympic Charter and that charge-sheeted persons should not be allowed to contest elections. IOA paid the price for defying the parent body saying the law of the land allowed Bhanot and Chautala to occupy chairs in the national Olympic committee.Indian athletes walked under the national flag with their heads held high as the tricolor flew at the 2014 Winter Olympics closing ceremony in Sochi on Sunday.
The three athletes, luger Shiva Keshavan, alpine skier Himanshu Thakur and cross-country skier Nadeem Iqbal had to march behind an Olympic flag when the Games began because the election of a corruption-tainted official as secretary general led to a ban on India's Olympic Association by the International Olympic Committee. The IOC lifted the ban on February 11 following fresh elections, allowing it to be represented at the Olympics and bringing the total number of nations competing at Russia's first Winter Games to 88. This meant Indian athletes, who had entered the Sochi Games as "independents" could wear their country's colours with pride. "It was a bad feeling I think at the opening ceremony because I was under the IOC flag," 20-year-old Thakur had said."It was a bad feeling because I was not representing my country.
After February 11, the IOC gave us our country back because of the fresh elections. I'm proud to put the flag up (in the athletes village). My parents, teacher and friends are very proud. The closing ceremony, under my own flag will be nice," he added. "Well it's like coming to the Olympics all over again so this is the real one," said India's Winter Games veteran Keshavan, who finished 37th out of 39 athletes in luge.The world's second most populous nation became the first to win readmission to the Olympic family during ongoing Games. "When the IOC lifted our ban in the midst of an Olympic event, it's the first time it's happened and I am truly grateful to the IOC president Thomas Bach... for having lifted the ban within two days," newly elected Indian Olympic Association N Ramachandran had said last week.
-Abhishek Rawat