While both parties have claimed to be satisfied after their recent meeting with the IOC,Indian Olympic Association secretary-general Randhir Singh has said that the association and the sports ministry must work together in future. The IOA and the government have been at loggerheads over the contentious tenure issue,leading to a meeting with the IOC in Lausanne last week. The matter was apparently resolved and Randhir said it was high time the two bodies moved on. The IOC made it very clear that the autonomy of the National Olympic Committees cannot be infringed. They said the IOCs constitution has to be respected and that they would be monitoring the situation in India, Randhir said. Asked whether the guidelines limiting the tenure of IOA and National Sports Federation office-bearers would not be implemented,Randhir said,Its up to the ministry now. The NOCs and the government should work together. Cycling venue inauguratedEarlier in the day,Sports Minister MS Gill sought proper maintenance of the stadia while inaugurating the new cycling velodrome at the Indira Gandhi indoor stadium complex. Its a special occasion today. There were issues but it has come up in 17 months and undoubtedly something to be proud of. But what after? These venues are world class and need to be taken care of, Gill said. he also took a dig at IOA president Suresh Kalmadi,saying while he had kept his part of the bargain by getting the venues ready on time,it was up to the IOA now ensure the games went off well. However,Cycling Federation of India president Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa admitted that,despite the facilities,there was not much hope of a medal.
