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Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Treasurer Sahdev Yadav responded to President PT Usha's remark about the IOA Executive Committee members not accepting a proposal to felicitate Paris Olympics medal-winners by calling it a "blatant lie."
On Monday, the IOA president stated that the EC members' failure to honour the Paris Olympics medallists was "deeply concerning" and also accused the financial committee of blocking funds that were intended to support India athletes in their preparation for the Paris Games. "These athletes have made the nation proud, and it is the responsibility of the IOA to celebrate their achievements with the respect they deserve. It is deeply concerning that, even after returning home in mid-August, the EC has failed to discuss or take any steps towards organising a formal felicitation ceremony," Usha said on Monday in a press release. Sahdev responded to Usha's comments and said in a press release by the IOA, "Mentioning the insensitivity of the EC members in failing to organize a felicitation ceremony for the Indian medallists in the Paris Olympics and her repeated efforts and proposals is nothing but blatant lies, which has been cooked by the President every now and then and shedding crocodile tears in front of the media." He even went on to state that there was no discussion or any proposal to the EC members "in writing" for organising a felicitation ceremony for the Paris Olympics medal winners. "To put the situation in perspective, there has been no discussion with EC members nor any official proposal in writing for organizing a felicitation ceremony for the medallists of the Paris Olympics 2024," Sahdev added. "Being the head of the family, instead of taking charge of responsibilities as per the IOA Constitution and working for the benefit of the organisation and the athletes, we fail to understand why the President, IOA, is spreading lies across the whole country, to put down the EC members, which does not have any proof nor hold any genuine ground. This is for the information of everyone that any proposal recommended and approved by the EC members and finance committee has been paid without any delay by Sahdev Yadav, Treasurer of IOA," the press release concluded. Twelve EC members on September 26 sent a letter to senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) official Jerome Poivey and accused PT Usha of running the IOA in an "autocratic manner." Usha stated that "the accusations are intended solely to malign the leadership and efforts of those working diligently towards the betterment of Indian sports." The ongoing internal feud in the IOA has also revolved around the appointment of Raghuram Iyer as its CEO in January this year. Usha clarified that the appointment of Raghuram was conducted in strict accordance with the IOA constitution. (ANI)
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