In news– Former Indian athlete PT Usha became the new chief of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) recently, as well as its first woman president.
About Indian Olympic Association (IOA)-
- The Indian Olympic Association or Indian Olympic Committee 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 under the name of Team India.
- The seeds for creation of an organisation for coordinating the Olympic movement in India was related to India’s participation in the 1920 and 1924 Olympics, when Sir Dorabji Tata suggested the need for a Sports body at National level for promoting Olympic Sport in united India.
- After the 1920 Games, the Committee sending the team to these Games met, and, on the advice of Sir Dorabji Tata, invited Dr. A.G. Noehren (Physical Education Director of YMCA India) to also join them.
- Subsequently, in 1923-24, a provisional All India Olympic Committee was set-up, which organised the All India Olympic Games (that later became the National Games of India) in February 1924.
- Eight athletes from these Games were selected to represent India at the 1924 Paris Summer Olympics, accompanied by manager Harry Crowe Buck.
- This gave impetus to the development and institutionalisation of sports in India, and, in 1927, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was formed, with Sir Dorabji Tata as its founding President and Dr. A.G. Noehren as Secretary.
- The same year as it was formed, 1927, the Indian Olympic Association was officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee.
About PT Usha-
- Pilavullakandi Thekkeraparambil Usha is a retired Indian track and field athlete. She was born in Kuthali, Kozhikode, Kerala.
- She has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979.
- She has won 4 Asian gold medals and 7 Silver medals. She is often called the “Queen of Indian track and field”
- On 6 July 2022, she was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by former President Ram Nath Kovind.
- With her appointment as chief of IOA,she also became the first Olympian and first international medallist to head the IOA in its 95-year-old history.
- Usha is the first sportsperson to have represented the country and also become IOA chief since Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, who played a Test match in 1934.
- Singh was the third IOA president who held office from 1938 to 1960.
Source: The Indian Express
