“I never thought I would one day become the IOA president,” track-andfield legend PT Usha said after she was elected as the first woman head of the Indian Olympic Association on Saturday.

Usha, 58, was officially elected for the top post during the polls, heralding a new chapter in Indian sports administration.

The elections were held under the supervision of Supreme Court-appointed retired SC judge L Nageswara Rao. The elevation of Usha to the top job marked an end to the long drawn crisis in the faction-ridden IOA, which was warned of a possible suspension by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) if elections are not held this month.

Usha took to athletics at the age of nine. What followed was a stellar career during which she won multiple Asian Games gold medals and achieved a fourth place finish in the 1984 Olympics 400m hurdles final. She announced her retirement in 1990, got married and returned to the tracks again in 1994 before finally quitting athletics in 2000.

“Only sportspersons know how tough it is to come from lower levels and win international medals. We will work for the athletes only,” Usha said.

She also became the first Olympian and the first international medallist to head the IOA in its 95-year-old history. Usha is the first IOA chief since Maharaja Yadavindra Singh who had also represented the country in sports. Singh played a Test match in 1934 and was the third IOA president who held office from 1938 to 1960.

Shooter Gagan Narang and All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey are among the office-bearers. Wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, archer Dola Banerjee, boxer MC Mary Kom and paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal are part of the executive council.