IOA delegates confident IOC will lift the ban

Seeing the way the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is taking interest in Wednesday's meeting with them, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) delegates feel the ban on the national Olympic committee will soon be lifted.

"We have only one line agenda -- restore IOA to its status and lift the ban," Tarlochan Singh, a long-time senior IOA vice-president, told IANS ahead of leaving for Lausanne.

"I am confident that the IOC sees reason in what we are saying because only the IOA has the power to make amendments in its constitution, not the government, the national sports federations or courts. And that can be done only when the ban on IOA is lifted. So, it is in the interest of all that the ban is lifted," said Tarlochan

Tarlochan said even the IOC and the sports ministry realise that the sooner the ban is lifted, the better it is for Indian sport.

Tarlochan Singh regretted acting IOA president Vijay Malhotra's decision to stay away from the meeting.

"As a senior leader of the movement, his inputs would have been of great help," he said.

Malhotra and Randhir Singh, India's lone IOC member and also IOA secretary general, have decided to stay away from the Lausanne meeting.

Malhotra felt he had no place in the meeting now that the IOC has "recognised the democratically elected IOA" under Abhay Singh Chautala while Randhir Singh said he has conveyed his views to IOC president Jacques Rogge both in a letter as well as in person separately.

Malhotra is unhappy that the IOC went beyond the four-member delegation selected by him by inviting Hockey India (HI) secretary general Narinder Batra and Jharkhand Olympic Association president R.K. Anand without taking him into confidence, though the Lausanne-based apex body of Olympic sports said it added the two to make sure all shades of opinion got a hearing.

Curiously both Malhotra and Chautala's lists had the names of Malhotra, Tarlochan Singh, N. Ramachandra, patron, Squash racquets Association of India, and S. Raghunathan, president, Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Association.

The meeting will also be attended by Sports Minister Jitendra Singh, Sports Secretary Pradeep Kumar Deb, two eminent sportsmen, shooter Abhinav Bindra, gold medal winner at the Beijing Olympics, and Olympic sailor Malav Shroff.

Tarlochan and Raghunathan will leave for Lausanne from here in the early hours Tuesday, while Ramachandran will fly out from Chennai.

Batra and Anand have already reached Lausanne and so have Sports Minister Jitendra Singh and Deb.