In India, it is common to see rifts between sports administrators, bodies, and officials. It is also quite often, that rival factions emerge within a body, that result in long, never-ending court cases as well. But the rift between the IOA president and the majority of its executive committee members has unfolded a new chapter in the history of rifts between Indian sports administrators.
As per a report in the New Indian Express, the email IDs of the IOA have been suspended. It further said, upon sending mails to id ‘ioa@olympic.ind.in’, it showed an auto-generated message saying, “… because the address couldn’t be found, or is unable to receive mail”. Upon further enquiry, it was found out that the mail service provider had discontinued the services due to the non-payment of dues. And the IOA office also confirmed about the development later.
IOA vs EC Could Cost India Big
The issue between the IOA and the EC started when CEO Raghu Iyer was appointed this year. The EC wasn’t happy with his appointment on ground of high salary (package of INR 2.4 Cr). Now, this could hamper the day-to-day working of the IOA, if the issue is not resolved soon. That includes bidding processes for and enquiries, and intimations by other sports bodies.
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The foremost impact could be on the Asian Winter Games, in Harbin, China, that are supposed to take place from Feb 7 to 14.
There are regular communications with the IOC that could also include bidding processes and enquiries from time to time. If the mails do not work, things might move southward as the IOA has to send entries for the Asian Winter Games to be held in Harbin, China.