PT Usha formally elected as first woman president of Indian Olympic Association.

• The legendary former athlete PT Usha has been formally elected as the first woman president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
• Ajay H Patel has been elected as senior Vice President, Rajlaxmi Singh Deo and Gagan Narang as Vice Presidents of the Indian Olympic Association.

About PT Usha

• The 58-year-old Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha – for short – is recognised as a phenom in Indian athletics and came onto the scene during the 1980s.
• Later, she became active as a coach and member of sports administration and was nominated as a Rajya Sabha MP in 2022 by the central government.
• The 58-year-old Usha is a multiple Asian Games gold medallist and a fourth-place finisher in the 1984 Olympics 400m hurdles final.
• She was also Known as the ‘Payyoli Express’

HISTORY

• India first participated in the Olympics in 1900 in Paris. The country was represented by Norman Pritchard, an Anglo Indian who was holidaying in Paris during that time.
• The seeds for creation of an organisation for coordinating the Olympic movement in India was related to India’s participation in the 1920 and 1924 Olympics, when Sir Dorabji Tata suggested the need for a Sports body at National level for promoting Olympic Sport in united India. After the 1920 Games, the Committee sending the team to these Games met, and, on the advice of Sir Dorabji Tata, invited Dr. A.G. Noehren (Physical Education Director of YMCA India) to also join them.
• Subsequently, in 1923-24, a provisional All India Olympic Committee was set-up, which organised the All India Olympic Games (that later became the National Games of India) in February 1924. Eight athletes from these Games were selected to represent India at the 1924 Paris Summer Olympics, accompanied by manager Harry Crowe Buck. This gave impetus to the development and institutionalization of sports in India, and, in 1927, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was formed, with Sir Dorabji Tata as its founding President and Dr. A.G. Noehren as Secretary.
• In the following months Harry Buck and Dr. Noehren travelled across India and helped many States establish their Olympic Associations, as member units of the IOA.
• The same year as it was formed, 1927, the Indian Olympic Association was officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee.