Deepa Malik elected India’s Paralympics Committee President

Deepa Malik, the country’s first female player to win a medal at the Paralympic Games, has been elected the new chairperson of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), but the election results for this will be valid after hearing a pending case in the Delhi High Court.

49-year-old Deepa, who won a silver medal in the throw-away (F-53) event at the Rio Olympics, was elected unopposed president in the election held in Bengaluru on Friday. Deepa tweeted, tagging PCI, “My heartiest congratulations on the commencement of new innings of a fresh tenure in Paralympic India. Expressing my gratitude on being trusted with the Presidentship and welcoming an athlete-centric approach in para-sports in India.”

Deepa further cleared what will be her aim after taking up to post as she tweeted, “A huge transition for me, personally, for which I hope for continued support. I look forward to disposing my duty with full honesty and integrity.”

Gursharan Singh, who following the removal of former President Rao Inderjit Singh was appointed acting president, was also elected unopposed for the post of secretary-general. While Kavinder Chaudhary and Shashi Ranjan were elected as vice presidents and M Mahadeva was chosen for the post of treasurer. Nale Nandkishore Baburao and Kantilal Parmar have been elected as joint-secretaries.

Announcing the results, Returning Officer R Radha (Retired District and Additional Sessions Judge) said that the results of this election will be valid after the hearing of a case pending before the Delhi High Court.

The newly elected secretary-general and former acting president of PCI said that it was for the first time when Top athletes like Deepa Malik has been made president of a sports body. Gurusharan further added that he is hoping that the PCI will soon be recognized by the ministry after the Delhi High court declares the elections valid.

It is to be noted that the PCI was derecognized by the sports ministry in September last year for violation of the National Sports Code in PCI’s decision to kick out Rao Inderjit Singh. The ministry had claimed that they were not satisfied by the PCI’s response to the removal of Rao Inderjit.