AFI announces newly elected body as Adille Sumariwalla's tenure ends

Asian Games gold medalist shot putter Bahadur Singh Sagoo will take over as Adille Sumariwalla's tenure ends at the Athletics Federation of India.

Sagoo will serve a four-year term as he was elected unopposed after incumbent senior vice president Anju Bobby George opted out of the race for the position.

His election was formalized at the two-day Annual General Meeting of the AFI. There were no elections for the remaining posts, a repeat of what happened during the last AGM in 2020.

Delhi unit's top official Sandeep Mehta was elected unopposed as the AFI secretary. He was the senior joint secretary in the outgoing executive council. Stanely Jones was made the treasurer.

Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, who won 800m and 1500m gold in the 1998 Asian Games, will be the joint secretary and Stanely Jones of Telangana will be elected the treasurer.

Sudha Singh, who won 3000m steeplechase gold in the 2010 Asian Games, former 100m national record holder Rachita Mistry, Harjinder Singh, and Priyanka Bhanot - daughter of AFI Planning Commission Chairman Lalit Bhanot – will be among the new executive committee members.

End of a glorious tenure for Adille Sumariwalla

Adille Sumariwalla has been the AFI president since 2012 and oversaw a tough period for the Athletics Federation of India as the Commonwealth Games scam hit the body in 2010.

Under his tenure, India won two medals at the Olympics with Neeraj Chopra getting a gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and following up with a silver at the Paris Games.

Indian middle distance runners and relay teams improved at the world level during his tenure with Avinash Sable featuring in the Olympics final in the 3000m Steeplechase and the men's relay team finishing fifth in the World Championships.

Currently, a World Athletics executive board member, Adille was not eligible to contest elections this time under the existing National Sports Code.