New Delhi: Bahadur Singh Sagoo, former shot put star, was on Tuesday elected unopposed as the Athletics Federation of India’s president. Sagoo will succeed the long-serving Adille Sumariwalla in the top position.
The 51-year-old former athlete, who is a member of the AFI Athletes Commission, will serve a four-year term between 2025 and 2029 as India’s Athletics body chief.
Sagoo was elected unopposed after remaining as the lone candidate left in the fray for the top post following the withdrawal of incumbent senior vice-president Anju Bobby George. The former long jumper, who opted out of the race for the top spot due to personal reasons, was elected for her second term as senior vice president.
Sagoo’s election was formalised at the two-day Annual General Meeting of the AFI.
“I am thankful to all the members for electing me as president. I will take forward the existing programmes of the AFI which are already robust and showing results. My team and I will try to take everyone along to take Indian athletics even further,” Sagoo said.
Just like in 2020, there were no elections for the remaining posts.
Who is Bahadur Singh Sagoo?
Hailing from Jalandhar, Sagoo is a two-time Olympian who took part in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. He won a shot put gold in the 2002 Busan Asian Games with a throw of 19.03m. With a lifetime best throw of 20.40m, Sagoo has also recieved the prestigious Padma Shri award.
The 51-year-old, who is currently serving as commandant in Punjab Police, is also a member of the senior selection committee.
A new-look executive committee
Meanwhile, the Delhi unit’s top official Sandeep Mehta was elected unopposed as the AFI secretary while Stanely Jones was named as the treasurer. Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, winner of the 800m and 1500m gold medals in the 1998 Asian Games, was elected as the joint secretary.
New members of the executive committee include Sudha Singh, 3000m steeplechase gold winner at the 2010 Asian Games, ex-100m national record holder Rachita Mistry, Harjinder Singh and Priyanka Bhanot – daughter of AFI Planning Commission Chairman Lalit Bhanot.
A total of nine former sportspersons including six females are part of the 18-member executive committee.
The 67-year-old Sumariwalla leaves the post after a 12-year tenure, during which Neeraj Chopra won the historic gold in the Tokyo Olympics followed by a silver in the Paris Games.
He is currently a member of the executive board of World Athletics.
Bahadur Singh Sagoo: The 51-year-old, who is currently serving as commandant in Punjab Police, is also a member of the senior selection committee. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
