IOC says Ministry-IOA row 'settled'

The Sports Ministry-IOA row over the tenure limit guidelines has been settled and both have agreed to "work together with mutual respect and understanding", the International Olympic Committee said in a statement.

The tug-of-war between the Indian Olympic Association and the Sports Ministry over the guidelines -- which fixes the term of the sports bosses in the country -- had reached IOC, which claimed to have addressed the issue after a meeting with both the affected parties on Friday.

Calling it a "fruitful meeting", the IOC said, "During this meeting, all issues currently pending were discussed at length and settled.

"All parties agreed to work together with mutual respect and understanding in order to develop and implement the principles of good governance within the Olympic and sports Movement in India in accordance with the Olympic Charter," it said.

IOC said all the parties were looking forward to a "fruitful collaboration" even though it asked the Sports Ministry not to infringe on the autonomy of the sports federations.

"All parties look forward to a fruitful collaboration between the Olympic and sports Movement in India and the Government Authorities, which must respect the autonomy of the Olympic and sports Movement and take place in accordance with the Olympic Charter, for the benefit of sport and the athletes in India," it added.

IOC member Randhir Singh led the IOA delegation while joint secretary I Srinivas represented the Sports Ministry.

Srinivas himself sounded satisfied with the meeting and said the ministry made its point clear before the IOC.

"The meeting was very cordial and it turned out to be a fruitful one. We presented our position before IOC and they (IOC) also expressed their views on the autonomy of sports bodies," Srinivas said, without saying whether the guidelines would be withdrawn or not.