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Indian Olympic Association president N Ramachandran was awarded the Olympic Order for outstanding service to the Olympic movement on Sunday.
Instituted in May 1975, the Olympic Order is the highest award of the Olympic Movement and is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, that is, recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport.
The President of the IOC, Thomas Bach, formally presented the award to Ramachandran and congratulated him, saying the award was in recognition of his contribution to the Indian Olympic Movement.
"I am humbled by the honour and it is indeed one of the best moments of my career in sports administration. I am extremely grateful to the IOC President, Dr Thomas Bach, and the IOC Executive Board for choosing me for this award. This award belongs to the entire country," Ramachandran said.
Ramachandran, who was elected President of the IOA in 2-14, is actively associated with several sports organisations and holds several responsible positions.
He was president of the Indian Triathlon Federation, and later the Secretary-General of the Squash Rackets Federation of India. He made Chennai the ‘Squash capital’ of India.
In 2001, he was elected as president of the Asian Squash Federation and was re-elected in 2005.
Ramachandran was appointed as an Associate Vice-President of the Indian Olympic Association in 2001 and elected a Vice-President in 2005.
In 2008, he was elected President of the World Squash Federation. In 2009, he was appointed as Patron of both the Asian Squash Federation and the Squash Rackets Federation of India.
At the WSF AGM in 2012, he was re-elected WSF President for a further four years.
IMAGE: N Ramchandran
Photograph: Sports Journalists Federation of India