Country's top sports administrators on Tuesday expressed deep sorrow at the death of former IOA president Suresh Kalmadi, calling it a huge loss to the Olympic movement in India.
Suresh Kalmadi brought several top-class events to India including the 2003 Afro Asian Games, the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Commonwealth Games scam-tainted Suresh Kalmadi is all set to chair a crucial meeting of the Asian Athletics Association in New Delhi, which will take stock of the continental championships which is scheduled to be held in Chennai in July.
Recommended by the Athletics Federation of India, Bhanot fought through a 14-strong challenge in the elections to be picked as one of the five vice-Presidents during the AAA council on the eve of the Asian Championships in Wuhan.
Tainted Indian sports administrator Suresh Kalmadi has been made Life President of the Asian Athletics Association for his "work in the development of athletics in the continent" during his 13-year tenure as the head of organisation from 2000.
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 at Wuhan in China from June 3 to 7.
The Indian team left for the five-day Asian Athletics Championships on Saturday night from Delhi and Bengaluru.
Build-up hit by pull-outs and dope flunks, India still hopeful of good show in Asian Athletics Championships from Wednesday
Amid protests over the alleged brutal killing of slain Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam chief V Prabhakaran's son, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday called off the 20th Asian Athletics Championships scheduled to be held in Chennai in July, saying Lankan players have no place in the state.
The scam-tainted Suresh Kalmadi was on Monday ousted as president of the Asian Athletics Association, losing the re-election bid to Qatar's Dahlan Jumaan Al-Hamad on the opening day of the continental body's two-day Congress in PUne.
Commonwealth Games scam-tainted Suresh Kalmadi is set to preside over a crucial two-day Congress of the Asian Athletics Association starting in Pune on Sunday, which will also vote on his re-election bid as president of the continental body.
Malaysian athletics official Karim Ibrahim has been hit with a six-year ban after he was found guilty of being involved in two doping cases, local media reported on Friday.
Notwithstanding the IOC ban on the country, India will host the prestigious Asian Athletics Championships in Chennai in July as the continental athletics body gave its go-ahead to the event, in Gurgaon on Saturday.
Sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi, facing trial in a games-related graft case, has been allowed by a Delhi court to visit Kazakhstan to attend a meeting of 73rd Asian Athletics Association Council.
The one-day meet on May 26 would be held at the Late Baburao Sanas Sports Complex in Pune.
An Athletics Federation of India statement said of the 44 nations affiliated to the AAA, 36 unanimously supported his candidature.
Commonwealth Games corruption scandal tainted Suresh Kalmadi was on Tuesday made the Life President of Indian Olympic Association in its Annual General Body Meeting in New Delhi. Another tainted official Abhay Singh Chautala was also made the Life President by the IOA.
Tokyo-bound AFI medical commission chairman AK Mendiratta dies of COVID-19.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that the government will keep in close touch with all relevant groups to ensure a virus outbreak does not have affect the Summer Olympics. Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto said organisers are not considering cancelling the Olympics, which start on July 24.
List of international sports events affected by the coronavirus that has killed over 900 people and infected more than 40,000 in China
Announces tentative calendar; defers elections
Scam-tainted Suresh Kalmadi's association with any sports body has ended as he lost the membership of the powerful Council of the International Association of Athletics Federation.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Legendary athlete P T Usha on Thursday criticised the Athletics Federation of India for blocking her protege Tintu Luka's participation in the Asian Grand Prix series in May, saying it has robbed the youngster of international exposure.
Beat Sergie Bubka by 115 votes to 92 in a ballot of the governing body's 50th Congress
Dahlan Jumaan Al-Hamad, the newly-elected president of the Asian Athletics Association, emphasised that the competition and development programs of the federation need to be reviewed and strategic marketing is required to attract corporate sponsors.
India was deprived of at least three medals at the Asian Cross Country Championships in Bahrain due to an apparent goof-up by the Athletics Federation of India which did not field the required number of participants to be considered for team standings. India fielded three athletes each in senior men, senior women, junior men and junior women categories in the championships and except in case of the first, the country should have won a team bronze each in the remaining three as they secured the third highest aggregate points. But strangely, India did not get any medal in the championships held in Manama. Sources told PTI this was due to the reason that each country was to field four runners in each event though only the top three would be considered for counting of aggregate points for team results. India fielded only three runners in each event. Points are counted according to the position of each runner like one point for the winner, two for the second-place finisher and three for the third. The team which gets the lowest aggregate point will get the gold and so on.
Unfazed at being ousted from the Asian Athletics Association, scam-tainted Suresh Kalmadi said losing the presidential re-election bid to Qatar's Dahlan Jumaan Al-Hamad has actually given him a chance to work at the "grassroots" level.
The absence of top stars took some sheen away but India's record-breaking medal haul and a maiden top-of-the-table finish made the just-concluded 22nd Asian Athletics Championship here a memorable one.
Despite the short notice to prepare for a major meet, the 20th Asian Athletics Championships, scheduled at Pune from July 3-7, will be among the best-organised, declared Athletics Federation of India president Adille Sumariwalla in Mumbai on Friday.
Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap knocked out top seed Lee Hyun Il of Korea in the men's singles opening round of the US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Anaheim, United States.