NEW DELHI: Haryana finance minister Captain Abhimanyu, who is also president of the state’s archery association, is one of the favourites to get elected president of the Archery Association of India (AAI).
Court-appointed administrator Dr SY Quraishi has announced that elections to the AAI will be conducted on December 20.
Clean Sports India founder member BVP Rao is one of the other contenders for the position, reports The Tribune. The last date for filing nominations for candidature is December 9, while the last date for withdrawal is December 14.
The AAI has been swimming in troubled waters since it was derecognised by the Sports Ministry in 2012 after Vijay Kumar Malhotra was elected as its chief, in direct violation of the sports code’s age and tenure restrictions.
Abhimanyu has been quoted as saying that it was time for the new body to bring the sport back to the mainstream.
“For forty years, archery has grown and brought laurels for the country and it has become a major sport; and all this without any controversy,” Abhimanyu told The Tribune. “It is only lately that there was controversy. There was also a court case which was not liked by many in the fraternity. We are still discussing as a team and exploring all the possibilities of keeping the family together,” he said.
“The federation got derecognised and did not get government support. So we need to bring it back on track. Bring everything in order and get government support back to promote archery.”
