World Archery lifts suspension on AAI

World Archery on Thursday decided to lift the suspension imposed on the Archery Association of India (AAI).

The decision was taken by World Archer's executive board postal vote and this comes after AAI's independent elections.

Indian archers are now allowed to compete in World Archery events as of today.

"We hope this is the start of a well-governed association in India and will help, where necessary, to develop the strategy that will accomplish this," World Archery secretary general Tom Dielen said in an official statement.

"Indian athletes can now focus on getting ready for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which is now just six months away," he added.

The federation now has been instructed to update its constitution to clarify athlete membership. AAI will be required to send a progress report every three months to World Archery.

The Archery Association of India had been suspended since August 5, 2019, with Indian athletes only allowed to compete under a neutral flag at events that directly affected their qualification chances for the Olympics.

India currently has three men's and one women's quota place at Tokyo 2020.

Earlier, Narinder Batra, the president of the Indian Olympic Association had written to the president of World Archery, asking him to lift the suspension of the AAI.

In the letter, IOA president had said that the AAI conducted fair elections and hence the suspension should be lifted so that the preparations for the 2020 Olympics can start.

In AAI's elections, Union Minister and former Chief Minister of Jharkhand Arjun Munda was elected as the president of the suspended AAI.

Munda defeated his rival BVP Rao by a margin of 34-18 votes as he had the support of former AAI President Vijay Kumar Malhotra. Munda's entire panel secured a majority share of votes and was elected for a full tenure of four years.

Elected members are as follows:

President: Arjun Munda (Jharkhand)

Secretary-General: Pramod Chandurkar (Maharashtra)

Senior Vice-President: Capt Abhimanyu Sindhu (Haryana)

Vice-Presidents: Amarinder Singh (Chandigarh), Rupak Debroy (Tripura), KK Jadam (Rajasthan), Rupesh Kar (Bengal), Chetan Kavleka (Goa), Kailash Murarka (Chhattisgarh), Paia Banylla War Nongbri (Meghalaya), D K Vidyarthi (MP)

Joint Secretary: Dinesh Bhil (Gujarat), KB Gurung (Sikkim), Ram Niwas Hooda (Haryana), Sumanta Mohanty (Jharkhand), Komjum Ribba (Arunachal), Joris Paulose Ummacheril (Kerala) and Shihan Hussaini (TN).

Treasurer: Rajendar Singh Tomar (Uttaranchal).