News : Are IOA’s top bosses ready to bury hatchet?

An ongoing spat between the seniormost officials of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) seems to have been sorted out for now. Secretary-general Rajeev Mehta gave a call to settle things, a day after president Narinder Batra appealed for an end to the infighting. The tussle between the top IOA officials began in March when Batra told Mehta he can take over a few of his responsibilities and ‘share the workload’. Mehta and his supporters questioned the motive of the statement and the validity of Batra’s election as president of IOA and international hockey federation (FIH). IOA vice-president Sudhanshu Mittal wrote to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) seeking an inquiry into Batra’s election to both posts. IOC and FIH rejected the complaints. Batra and Mehta also have had differences over the resumption of sporting activities after the nationwide lockdown for Covid-19 ended.