Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha and five Olympic medallists are among 27 former athletes in the running for eight Sportspersons of Merit (SOM) positions in the national Olympic body's General Assembly. The November 9 election is expected to play an important role in shaping the IOA's next Executive Council, with several prominent sporting figures in contention.

A total of 80 existing SOMs, comprising 40 men and 40 women, will vote virtually to elect four representatives from each category. The eight successful candidates will become members of the IOA General Assembly and gain voting rights in the December 5 elections for the body's new Executive Council.

The list features some of India's most recognisable sporting names, including Olympic medallists Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt, Vijender Singh, Surinder Singh Shokar and Saina Nehwal. World Athletics vice-president Adille Sumariwalla, hockey great Sardar Singh and former table tennis star Achanta Sharath Kamal are also among the candidates.

The SOM election carries added significance as the successful candidates will have a say in the upcoming IOA leadership polls. Two of the eight elected members, one man and one woman, will eventually secure places in the Executive Council and could also contest for other positions, including the president's post.

OLYMPIC MEDALLISTS IN MEN'S CONTEST

There are 15 candidates competing for the four men's SOM positions, with four Olympic medallists among them. Shooter Gagan Narang and wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt won bronze medals at the 2012 London Olympics, while boxer Vijender Singh claimed bronze at Beijing 2008. Hockey player Surinder Singh Shokar was part of India's gold-winning team at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Other notable candidates include Sumariwalla, Sardar Singh, Sharath Kamal, shooters Mansher Singh, Morad Ali Khan and Ronjan Sodhi, former table tennis player Kamlesh Mehta, weightlifter Sathish Kumar Sivalingam, badminton players B Sai Praneeth and B Sumeeth Reddy, and former shot putter Om Prakash Karhana.

USHA, SAINA LEAD WOMEN'S FIELD

Usha, Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal and 2003 World Championships bronze medallist Anju Bobby George headline the 12 candidates contesting for four women's positions.

The list also features former archers Dola Banerjee and Chekrovolu Swuro, ex-hockey captain Rani Rampal, sprinter Ashwini Nachappa, badminton player Trupti Murgunde, weightlifter Neelam Setti Laxmi, canoe and kayak athlete Ragina Kiro, basketball player Anitha Paul Durai and Sunith Singh.

Usha's nomination has been proposed by former table tennis player A Radhika and seconded by former quarter-miler Lijo David Thottan. Sunith Singh's nomination, meanwhile, has been listed without a seconder, leaving its validity subject to scrutiny by Electoral Officer Sanjay Kumar Srivastava.

The scrutiny of nominations is scheduled for November 3, with the final list of candidates set to be published on November 7, two days ahead of the virtual election.

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