NEW DELHI: Former Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president and senior sports administrator Suresh Kalmadi passed away at a hospital in Pune in the early hours of Tuesday. He was 81. Kalmadi, who had been battling health issues for some time, breathed his last at around 3.30 am.
He is survived by his wife, a son and daughter-in-law, two married daughters, a son-in-law, and his grandchildren.
A prominent figure in Indian sports administration, Kalmadi played a significant role in shaping the country's Olympic movement for over two decades. He led the IOA from 1996 to 2011, becoming one of the longest-serving presidents in the organisation's history.
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Born in 1944, Kalmadi began his career as a fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force and served the nation during the 1965 and 1971 wars. He later transitioned into public life, carving out a long and influential career in politics and sports administration.
He went on to represent Pune in the Lok Sabha multiple times as a Congress leader and also served as a Union minister, while steadily consolidating his position in Indian and international sports bodies.
As IOA president, Kalmadi had enormous influence during a period when Indian sport was expanding its global footprint.
He also served as president of the Asian Athletics Association and was a member of the IAAF Council, making him one of India's most powerful sports administrators internationally.
Under his IOA tenure, India achieved a historic breakthrough at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when shooter Abhinav Bindra won the country's first-ever individual Olympic gold medal. He was also the Chairman of the Organising Committee when Delhi hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
Kalmadi was also closely associated with the growth of athletics and sports infrastructure in Pune, and played a key role in initiatives such as the Pune International Marathon, which became a regular fixture on the Indian road-running calendar.
(With PTI Inputs)
