Praveen Mahajan was on Friday elected unopposed as the president of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) in its Special General Meeting (SGM) held in Pune. A senior bureaucrat, Mahajan has been elected for the for the period 2016 to 2020. Advocate Surinder Goel was appointed as Returning Officer for the said election. Sports Authority of India (SAI) deputy director (Vig.) Rajiv Sareen was deputed by the sports ministry as government observer and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) joint secretary Rakesh Gupta, nominated as IOA observer, were present in the meeting.
"In the Special General Meeting of AITA held today at Hotel Holiday Inn, Pune Ms Praveen Mahajan was elected unopposed as President of All India Tennis Association (AITA) for the period 2016-2020," said AITA Secretary General Hironmoy Chatterjee in a release.
"Adv. Surinder Goel was appointed as Returning Officer for the said election. Dr. Rajiv Sareen, Dy. Director (Vig.), SAI who was deputed by MYAS as Government Observer and Shri Rakesh Gupta, Joint Secretary, IOA who was nominated as IOA Observer were present in the meeting."
Mahajan, a former Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, is the first woman president of AITA, replacing veteran administrator Anil Khanna who was forced to quit by the sports ministry.
India is currently playing New Zealand in the Davis Cup Group 1 Asia/Oceania tie in Pune. At the end of Day 1, the hosts led 2-0.
(With inputs from PTI)