Pere Miro, director of NOC relations at the IOC said that the World body was forced to suspend IOA as repeated warnings to set the house in order fell on deaf ears.
Miro in an exclusive interview to the Times of India, he said that IOC does not recognise the election process and that is the end of the matter.
“As far as the IOC is concerned, Mr VK Malhotra was the functional president when the IOA was suspended and Mr Randhir Singh was the general secretary. We continue to recognize that and any further changes in the IOA don't really affect us,” said Miro.
When asked if IOC has been approached by the Government or IOA, he said “Since the suspension, nobody from India has approached us. We are open to dialogue. If anyone from India does approach us, we are ready to hold talks to sort out the issue. The IOC is keen to ensure that sporting activities happen in India smoothly.”
He also made IOC’s stand clear on Indian athletes.
“India cannot participate in any event held under the IOC jurisdiction as a nation as long as the suspension remains in force. That would include events like the Olympics and the Asian Games. When it comes to athletes, the issue will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. However, in single sport, for example Asian Table Tennis Championship which is conducted by the ITTF, the IOC will respect the decision of the governing body of that sport,” Miro added.
Meanwhile, the Hindustan Times writes that India are yet to come to terms with the suspension of the Indian Olympic Association but things are going from bad to worse for the country’s sports. After Tuesday’s decision by the International Olympic Committee’s executive board, the International Boxing Association suspended the national body of the sport, pointing to rule violations in the federation’s elections.
The government, which insists the federations and IOA must follow its strict sports code, swiftly followed up by suspending the boxing federation and de-recognising the archery federation.
Friday saw plenty of action but little assurance that Indian athletes, left seething and worried about their future, will not be hurt by the actions of their sports bosses. A delegation of the IOA, which went ahead with its elections despite the IOC suspension, met sports minister, Jitendra Singh. He received them but said the meeting had no sanctity as he met him only in their individual capacity.