File image of Randhir Singh© X (Twitter)
Former international shooter and sports administration veteran Randhir Singh is set to become the first Indian president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) after emerging as the only candidate vying for the top post in the September 8 elections. Singh, 77, a former member of the International Olympic Council (IOC) and former secretary-general of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), was currently acting president of the continent’s highest sports body. “The OCA Election Committee can confirm that Acting OCA President Randhir Singh is the only eligible candidate to be nominated for the OCA General Assembly elections on September 8, 2024,” the OCA said in a statement.
“The Election Commission, chaired by Justice Rohinton Nariman (former Judge of the Supreme Court of India), met today to consider the CVs and eligibility criteria of all nominees submitted by OCA member NOCs by the deadline of July 21, 2024, in accordance with the OCA Constitution, Election Rules and Guidelines,” it said.
“The committee unanimously approved the nomination of Mr Singh, who was nominated by the NOC of India and supported by the 27 NOCs of the OCA.” Batusig Batbold, president of the Mongolian Olympic Committee, was found ineligible by the Election Committee as he did not meet the eligibility criteria set out in the relevant article of the constitution, which states that a candidate must have served as president of an NOC (National Olympic Committee) for at least eight years or served as a member of the OCA Executive Committee for at least eight years and be supported by two NOCs.
The Secretary General of Mongolia’s NOC subsequently informed the Election Commission that Batbold had withdrawn his candidacy for the OCA Presidency.
Singh was appointed acting head of the OCA by the IOC in September 2021 after Kuwaiti national Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Sabah stepped down as president following the Geneva Court’s conviction of him in a forgery case. Singh served as secretary-general of the OCA under Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Sabah from 1991 to 2015.
In July 2023, Sheikh Ahmed Al Fahad Al Sabah’s younger brother, Sheikh Talal Al Fahad Al Sabah, was elected President of the OCA in an election held in Bangkok. However, the IOC did not recognize the election, citing “undeniable influence” of Sheikh Ahmed Al Fahad Al Sabah on the OCA elections. Sheikh Ahmed Al Fahad Al Sabah was suspended by the IOC for three years.
The decision to postpone the Hangzhou Asian Games by one year from 2022 to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic was taken under Singh’s direction. Since then, under Singh’s leadership, the Asian Games have been a success.
Born in Patiala in Punjab, Singh is the son of long-time IOC member and IOA president Barindra Singh and grandson of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala.
During his shooting career, Singh won multiple national titles in both skeet and trap events and became the first Indian shooter to win a gold medal at the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1978.
From 1968 to 1984, Singh competed in five Olympic Games in mixed trap – he was the second Indian to do so after Karni Singh – and won medals in the four Asian Games he participated in.
He served as Secretary General of the IOA from 1987 to 2012 and was Vice-Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games. He served as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2001 to 2014. He has been an honorary member of the IOC since 2014.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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