New Delhi: Veteran sports administrator Randhir Singh was unanimously elected president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in its 44th General Assembly held here on Sunday.
Singh, who is the first Indian to become full-time president of the continental body, will hold the top job for four years. He was OCA’s secretary-general from 1991 to 2015 – the post has been abolished – and then was its life vice-president until 2021.
A trap shooter who represented India at five Olympics from 1968 to 1984, he won gold in the event at the 1978 Bangkok Asian Games. He has served as OCA acting president since 2021, filling in after Kuwait’s Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah was handed a 15-year ban from sports administration by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over ethics breach. He was Indian Olympic Association secretary-general (1987-2012) and IOC member (2001-14).
The posts of president, five vice-presidents (for the 5 zones) and five Executive Board members were all uncontested. The electronic voting required a simple majority of 50 per cent plus one from the 45 National Olympic Committees.