Indian Olympic Association
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Indian Olympic Association

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Indian Olympic Association

The Indian Olympic Association, abbreviated as IOA, (ISO: Bhāratīya Olaṃpika Saṃgha) is responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international sports competitions, and managing Indian teams at these events. It goes with the name of Team India. It also acts as the Indian Commonwealth Games Association, responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Commonwealth Games.

The background behind the creation of the Indian Olympic Association was related to India's participation in the 1920 and 1924 Olympics. After the 1920 Games, the committee sending the team to these games met, and, on the advice of Sir Dorab Tata, invited Dr. Noehren (Physical Education Director of YMCA India) to be secretary, along with AS Bhagwat, of the provisional Indian Olympic Committee; Dorab Tata would serve as its president. Subsequently, in 1923–24, a provisional All India Olympic Committee was formed, and the All India Olympic Games (that later became the National Games of India) were held in Feb 1924. Eight athletes from these games were selected to represent India at the 1924 Paris Olympics, accompanied by manager Harry Crowe Buck. This gave impetus to the development and institutionalization of sports in India, and, in 1927, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), was created at the initiative of Harry Crowe Buck and Dr. A. G. Noehren (both of the Madras (YMCA) College of Physical Education). Sir Dorab Tata was important in financing and supporting the movement and became the first Indian Olympic Association president in 1927. Messrs Buck and Noehren travelled across India and helped many states organise their Olympic associations. Noehren was the first Secretary and Guru Dutt Sondhi was the first assistant secretary of the Indian Olympic Association, and after Noehren resigned in 1938, Sondhi and S.M. Moinul Haq became the secretary and joint secretary of the Indian Olympic Association.

The Indian Olympic Association was formed in 1927, and since that year was officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee as India's national Olympic organisation.[1] In 1928, Maharaja Bhupindra Singh took over as Indian Olympic Association president.

Early tasks:

Illustrating this, IOA President Yadavindra Singh's appeal for funding in 1948 stated: "We need about 3 lakh of rupees to finance" the Indian Olympic team for the London Olympics; that "the youth taking part in these games become ambassadors of goodwill" for India; and that "careful selection, intensive training and proper equipment is most essential" to field a competitive team, but that the Indian Olympic Association is "greatly handicapped for want of sufficient funds" for these tasks.

The Indian Olympic Association thus undertook wider outreach with several national sports federations, and essentially became a clearing house that coordinated the sending of multiple sports teams – each selected by their respective sports federations – to the Olympics.

Following is the IOA executive committee for the 2022–2026 term.

National sports federations are categorized in two categories i.e. Olympic Sports and Other Recognized Sports

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