Winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan to face for IOC Athletes’ Commission election

Star Indian luger Shiva Keshavan will search to develop into a member of the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes Commission when the elections are held in the course of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
The 40-year-old six-time Winter Olympian has been authorised as one of many 17 candidates to fill in two vacant locations of the IOC’s Athletes Commission after the world physique’s government board assembly in Athens on Saturday.
“Ten female and seven male athletes from 17 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), six sports and five continents will compete for the two vacant seats on the Commission,” the IOC stated in an announcement with an inventory of the 17 contesting candidates.
“They have been nominated by their respective NOCs, together with their NOC Athletes’ Commissions.”
Indian Olympic Association Secretary General Rajeev Mehta confirmed that it had nominated the identify of Keshavan who’s the torch bearer of Winter Olympics for the nation.
“Yes, the IOA had nominated his name for the IOC Athletes Commission. He is the most deserving athlete as far as Winter Olympics is concerned,” Mehta instructed PTI.
Keshavan has been participating within the Winter Olympics in luge males’s singles because the 1998 Nagano Games in Japan. He was additionally the Asian champion in 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017 and holds the Asian report in luge.
In the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Keshavan and cross nation skiier Jagdish Singh represented India.
Serving as a hyperlink between the athletes and the IOC, the Commission consists of a most of 23 members (12 members immediately elected by their friends and a most of 11 appointed), who serve a time period of eight years.
An election is held at each version of the Olympic Games, with 4 members chosen at every Summer Games, and two at every Winter Games.
Athletes competing on the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will be capable of vote for his or her representatives within the Olympic Villages from January 27 (the day the Villages open) till February 16.
The elected athletes will change present IOC AC member Hayley Wickenheiser (Canada), who’s ending her time period of workplace on the finish of Beijing Winter Olympics, and fill the emptiness brought on by Ole Einar Bjorndalen’s (Norway) resignation in 2016.
Last month, Keshavan had drawn consideration of the federal government in direction of the plight of the nation’s 2022 Winter Olympics aspirants, saying they’ve resorted to crowd funding attributable to lack of monetary assist.
The Winter Olympics will probably be held in Beijing from February 4-20 subsequent 12 months.
“There are 150 days left for the Winter Olympics. A reminder to the government that not a single winter sports federation is currently recognised and eligible for funding in India,” Keshavan had tweeted.
“Athletes are doing crowdfunding online!,” he had stated.