The Athletics Federation of India has decided to extend the term of its office-bearers since there was no possibility of conducting the elections due to the novel Coronavirus pandemic, which had forced the body to stall its annual general meeting and the poll process.
The decision was taken at an online special general meeting on Saturday.
The AFI incumbent president Adille Sumariwalla had completed his second successive term in office last month. The elections slated at the annual general meeting in April had to be postponed due to the countrywide lockdown, imposed to minimise the threat of novel Coronavirus which is still without an anti-dose.
Sumariwalla was elected for the second successive term as the AFI president in April 2016.
The elections, deferred indefinitely, will now take place as an when the AFI will be in a position to conduct a “physical AGM,” the athletics governing body in the country has confirmed.
Sumariwalla has been authorised to take a decision in consultation with senior colleagues to call an AGM for the election process as and when situation permits.
The election process and the AGM have been deferred on the suggestion of the Indian Olympic Association president Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra.
The AFI has also appraised the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports about the decisions taken at the meeting on Saturday. It was also decided to appointment the incumbent AFI secretary C K Valson as competition director of the Asian Athletics Association-based in Bangkok.