Rai elected KAA president

Muthappa Rai, chief of pro-Kannada organisation Jaya Karnataka, was elected unopposed the president of the Karnataka Athletics Association (KAA) here on Wednesday.

Rai, representing the Ramanagara District Athletics Association, had filed the nomination for the top post on September 9. A Rajavelu was chosen the secretary unopposed while H T Mahadeva, from Hassan District Athletics Association, was elected the vice president.

At a press conference which turned chaotic thanks to the presence of hundreds of members and supporters of Jaya Karnataka here on Wednesday, Rai said his main aim is to identify talented athletes from the rural areas and provide monetary support to all the district associations.

Rai also promised to solve the prolonged stand-off between athletics and football and asserted that the Sree Kanteerava Stadium will remain for athletics activities only.

Athletics Federation of India treasurer P K Srivastava, who was here as the observer for the elections, said Rai’s presence comes as a welcome change. “Rai occupying the top post is a positive development. He is capable of attracting big sponsors for many athletics events. He has the potential to bring in big money to the association. The entire election process was followed according to the constitution of the State association,” he said.

Srivastava said the AFI had two messages for Rai and his team. “Firstly we want the KAA to conduct State Championships regularly and we want the district associations to flourish. The second message from AFI is regarding the participation in National Championships. These meets will give athletes the opportunity to showcase their talent,” he said.

Office bearers: President: N Muthappa Rai. Sr. vice-president: H T Mahadeva. Vice-presidents: Sadanand M Naik, SS Hiremath, Somashekar S and BL Bharathi. Secretary: A Rajavelu. Sr. joint secretary: Ajay Kumar.

Joint secretaries: RB Kallesh, AN Prabhakar, Manchanabale K Srinivas. Treasurer: Sunilkumar Shetty.