- Friday, April 19, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
FORMER Indian Olympian and veteran sports administrator Raja Randhir Singh on Saturday (11) assumed charges of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) after its former head from Kuwait was jailed for forgery.
On Friday (10), a court in Geneva found Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, a member of Kuwait’s ruling family, guilty over a plot against domestic political rivals, AFP reported. He had been known to be one of the powerful sports bosses in the world until his court issues started. He denied any wrongdoing in the current case and said that he would appeal the sentence (a 30-month one but half of which has been suspended). His office said Sheikh Ahmad would “temporarily step aside” from his OCA role “until he has successfully appealed today’s verdict”, AFP added.
In a statement, Singh, 74, said he was taking over as interim president as the longest serving member of the OCA executive.
“Whilst I have every confidence that Sheikh Ahmad will be successful in his appeal, I would be honored to step in temporarily as the acting president of the OCA to ensure the continued smooth running of the organisation in the critical period ahead,” Singh, who is a winner of India’s prestigious sporting honour Arjuna Award, said in a statement.
The OCA will have a busy 2022 as two major multi-sports events will be held in Asia the same year – both of which will be hosted by China. While Beijing will host the Winter Olympics in February, Hangzhou will host the Asian Games later in the year.
Singh, a former Olympic shooter who took part in a number of editions between the 1960s and 1980s, was also a member of the International Olympic Committee executive till 2015. He is also credited for bringing the 2010 Commonwealth Games to India.
