The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has been directed by the sports ministry to form an ad-hoc committee to manage the daily operations of the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) and conduct elections to the Executive Committee (EC) of the embattled body. The latest decision represents a shift from the ministry’s stance in April 2021, which was issued in response to the Delhi High Court order of March 2021, that it was unnecessary to conduct a fresh election.
The ministry’s recognition of VFI as a national sports federation has not been renewed since December 31, 2019. The ministry cited “persistent factionalism” and a “longstanding impasse” among the reasons for its decision. The ad-hoc committee will be responsible for conducting the election within 45 days of its establishment. Until a new EC, with a cap of 12 members, takes over, the ad-hoc committee will be in charge of athlete selection and sending entries for international meets.
The VFI held two parallel elections for its EC on March 12, 2020, and March 15, 2020. In the first election, Achyuta Samanta was elected as president and Anil Chaudhary as secretary-general, whereas Dr. Anil Agrawal and Mohammed Khan took the top two positions in the second election. The two factions have been battling to gain control of the federation.
The ministry identified various issues faced by athletes including a lack of clarity regarding certificates of participation and their future prospects. According to the letter, the existing VFI is not fully compliant with the sports code and does not have an Internal Complaints Committee to investigate allegations of sexual harassment. The Indian men’s team is ranked 68th in the world while the women’s team is not currently ranked.