Lalit Bhanot to run for Asian athletics body

New Delhi: Former IOA Secretary General Lalit Bhanot is set to contest for the post of vice president of the Asian Athletics Association (AAA) when the elections for the continental body are held in China next month. It is learnt that Bhanot has been recommended by the Athletics Federation of India to contest the AAA elections to be held on June 1 prior to the Asian Athletics Championships (June 3-7) at Wuhan in China.

Though Bhanot was not allowed to contest IOA elections last year by IOC after being jailed for some months in connection with 2010 Commonwealth Games corruption scandal, there was no bar on him to contest AAA polls.Former IOA and AAA chief Suresh Kalmadi, who was also jailed along with Bhanot in connection with the same case, contested the continental body’s presidential elections in 2013 though he lost the polls.

Kalmadi was recently made life president of the AAA for his contribution in Asian athletics as its head for 13 years from 2000 to 2013. Bhanot is among 14 candidates from various countries for five posts of vice presidents.Bhanot had served as secretary of AFI for more than a decade before 2010 and was the Secretary General of the IOA when it served a 14-month suspension by the IOC.

Incumbent president Dahlan Al-Hamad of Qatar, who had defeated Kalmadi in 2013 in Pune to become the head of AAA, will be elected unopposed to the top job for his second term. The influential Qatari is also one of the vice presidents of the IAAF.

Other Indians in the fray for membership of various committees include AFI Secretary C.K. Valson (Technical Committee), C. Latha (Women’s Committee), Arun Kumar Mendiratta (Medical Commission), Ravinder Chaudhury (Cross Cou-ntry and Road Running Committee) and Tony Daniel (Race Walking Committee).