Lausanne meeting to proceed as per schedule

New Delhi: The crucial Lausanne meeting between the Indian officials and the International Olympic Committee to find a way for the country`s return to the Olympic fold will proceed as per schedule on May 15 despite the dramatic pull-out of IOA acting president V K Malhotra and IOC member Randhir Singh.

The IOC has sent a message to the Swiss Embassy here to expedite the visa formalities of all the visiting delegates, a clear indication that it is going ahead with the scheduled meeting. "The Swiss Embassy has been asked to grant visa to all the delegates who will be attending the meeting. The names of all the delegates have been given to the Embassy," a top IOA official told PTI. The crucial meeting had come under a cloud of uncertainty after Malhotra and Randhir pulled out of it, apparently miffed with the world body`s changed stance. Malhotra and Randhir`s decision to boycott the meeting came a day after the IOC agreed to include Hockey India General Secretary Narinder Batra and Jharkhand Olympic Association R K Anand in the IOA delegation for the meeting, in addition to the four-member list submitted earlier. The meeting will also be attended by Sports Minister Jitendra Singh, Sports Secretary P K Deb, Beijing Olympics gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra and Olympian sailor Malav Shroff. In a letter to IOC chief Jacques Rogge, Malhotra had informed that he would be withdrawing himself since the world body has started interacting with the suspended IOA. Malhotra had named a four-member delegation to be led by him for the joint meeting. The other members of the delegation he had named were Tarlochan Singh, S Reghunathan and N Ramachandran. PTI