Cleaning up of Indian sports should begin with Suresh Kalmadi's exit, says ex-sprinter Ashwini Nachappa

Scam-tainted Suresh Kalmadi was today ousted as President of the Asian Athletics Association (AAA), losing the re-election bid to Qatar's Dahlan Jumaan Al-Hamad on the opening day of the continental body's two-day Congress here.

Kalmadi, who is out on bail after spending 10 months in jail for his alleged involvement in the Commonwealth Games scam, lost by a two-vote margin.

The new president of the AAA, Al-Hamad, told NDTV just after his appointment that his priority now will be to develop sports in Asia as a whole. He also wanted the parent body, International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), to work on its rules so that presidents also have specific terms in the AAA. It is noteworthy that Kalmadi, who had been a president for 12 years now, was looking for another term.

"It is life and you always have to review your rules. IAAF is working on how to make the movement better. There is now way that we will sit still without looking into the future. A lot of funding in athletics is coming from Asia and we would want to develop asian athletics even more. I will not disappoint in my term as the AAA president," said Hamad.

Talking to NDTV, former Indian sprinter Ashwini Nachappa, who is also the president of Clean Sports India, an initiative formed by former Olympians like Pargat Singh and sport-loving film personalities like Tom Alter, said there were lessons in Kalmadi's ouster for the entire sports system in India.

"Unless something like this happens, he (Kalmadi) would not leave. There are no morals or ethics to follow. Even federations don't follow ethics. Kalmadi controls federations from inside jail walls. Cleaning up should begin in order to clean up image of sport," said Nachappa.

There was a voice in support of Kalmadi though as Commonwealth Games Gold medallist and India's top Discus thrower Krishna Poonia told NDTV that she 'regretted' the result of the polls.

"He has done a lot for Indian sport. A lot of development in Indian sport has been done by Kalmadi only. I would not like to comment on the criminal case, which is still under investigation. What I would rather say is about the sports where he has done more than enough. I would also like to say that whether sportpersons or not, all those who encourage sports should be given full backing," said Poonia.

Another former Olympian, GS Randhawa, too voiced support for Kalmadi.

"I am shocked to know about the ouster of Mr. Kalmadi. Him and Lalit Bhanot have done yeoman service to promote athletics and sports culture in the country. It is a big blow to Mr. Kalmadi," said Randhawa.

Kalmadi was the former president of the Indian Olympic Association. He is facing charges of corruption during the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

What happened in the build up:

Talking to NDTV earlier in the day, a defiant Kalmadi had predicted the elections will be a close affair.

Kalmadi's camp was confident of him winning the elections. The argument in Kalmadi's favour was that though he may have been pushed into a corner in India, he held a firm grip over sports associations in Asia.

But many sportspersons across the country felt that a tainted Kalmadi should not have entered the fray, at least till he was proven innocent.

Former track star Milkha Singh said Kalmadi should remain away from sports administration.

"All of us know about the Commonwealth Games scam and I would ask Kalmadi to stay away from sports and sports administration," the Flying Sikh said.

Former Indian athlete Reeth Abraham also echoed the concerns of Indian sports fraternity.

"We have written to International athletics federation and the Asian association asking them to take some action against Kalmadi. He has served jail sentence too. What else do they need to take action," said an infuriated Abraham.