Ramachandran to meet IOC president March 26

Newly-elected Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narayana Ramachandran Tuesday said he would be meeting International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach later this month to find a way forward for India.

India returned to the Olympic fold Feb 11 with the IOC lifting a 14-month-old ban it had placed on IOA. Ramachandran and Bach will be meeting at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne March 26 to discuss the steps taken by the newly-elected IOA.

"Thomas Bach invited me to an meeting March 26 to discuss a way forward for the IOA. I will meet him and then will discuss the entire matter with my colleagues here. We will reveal all details in the IOA executive committee meeting April 3," Ramachandran told reporters at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games Roadshow here.

Talking about the breakaway faction in the suspended Indian Boxing Federation (IBF), Ramachandran said a decision will be made after full discussions with other IOA members. IBF's former secretary general P.K. Muralidharan Raja is leading the rebel group and has requested permission from the International Boxing Association (AIBA) to form a new body.

"We will take stock of the situation and then make a decision. I will only be able to give an answer after the meeting April 3," said Ramachandran.

Indian athletes competed in the recent Sochi Winter Games under the Olympic flag but were allowed to carry the Indian flag at the closing ceremony after lifting of the ban.