Leander Paes applies to join AITA roster of Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit

BENGALURU: Leander Paes, president of the Bengal Tennis Association, has applied to be included on the All-India Tennis Association’s roster of Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOM), the BTA said on social media on Friday.

The AITA’s amended constitution mandates the preparation of a roster comprising 20 male and 20 female SOMs. From that roster, two men and two women will be elected to the AITA General Body and those elected will hold voting rights. The move is part of a broader constitutional change intended to formalise athlete representation within the association.

Under the amendments, two SOMs — one man and one woman — will occupy places on the AITA’s 15-member Executive Committee. SOMs who secure election to the General Body are eligible to apply for Executive Committee membership. Those SOMs may also stand for the AITA offices of president, general secretary and treasurer.

AITA began inviting athletes to apply for inclusion on the SOM roster on August 15. The association wrote to the Union Sports Ministry on August 19 requesting expansion of the selection criteria. The National Sports Governance Act prioritises achievements at the Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, and AITA has asked for Grand Slams, ATP and WTA tournaments, and the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup to be included in the criteria.

Paes will qualify as a Tier 1 SOM by virtue of his singles bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. That medal was India’s first individual Olympic medal since K.D. Jadhav’s in 1952.

Paes’s application makes him eligible for placement on the SOM roster; if he is elected to the AITA General Body he can apply to join the Executive Committee and may contest for the posts of AITA president, general secretary or treasurer.