Luger Shiva Keshavan is one of the four Indian athletes set to compete at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Luger Shiva Keshavan is one of the four Indian athletes set to compete at the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Indian athletes will have to compete as independent sportspersons at next month's Sochi Winter Olympics after the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) decided not to advance its elections scheduled for February 9.Four Indians, including Shiva Keshavan, who recently won a silver medal at the Luge Asia Cup in Nagano, Japan, are scheduled to compete in the Winter Olympics that begin on February 7.The IOA has decided that the elections will be held on February 9, as announced earlier, and the notices for the polls will be issued on Tuesday.After the International Olympic Committee (IOC) gave its approval to the amended constitution of the IOA, sports minister Jitendra Singh had said that the government would try to ensure that the polls are held by the end of January so that the Indians are allowed to compete under the national flag at the Olympics.However, the IOA has now decided that it would stick to its original election date that has already been communicated to the IOC. "We will hold elections on February 9, as decided by the special general body at its last meeting. We are ready with the notices and Abhay Singh Chautala is likely to give a go-ahead on Tuesday, which is when the notices for elections will be sent to all the members," said a top IOA official.Mail Today tried to reach sports ministry officials, but they were not available to comment on the issue.Besides Keshavan, skiers Hira Lal, Himanshu Thakur and Nadeem Iqbal have qualified for the 17-day Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.Due to the suspension of the IOA, Keshavan had to compete at the Luge Asia Cup as an independent athlete and his medal also did not go into India's kitty."We have had discussions and it was mutually agreed that we must not take decisions in haste. So it was decided not to alter the dates for the elections. It (change of election date) may allow people to exploit legal loopholes in the decision and jeopardise the polls again," the source added.The IOA was suspended by the IOC for 'government interference' in its elections held on December 5, 2012, but later, the world body said that the IOA should do away with the charge-framed officials, failing which it would be derecognised.

The IOA was left with no choice but accept the IOC diktat, which meant that Lalit Bhanot and Chautala were no more eligible to contest the elections.





