Overview
- Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza were elected as Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit to the All India Tennis Association governing body, with Bhupathi receiving 19 votes and Mirza 18.
- Two other SOM seats were won by Ashutosh Singh with 17 votes and Shalini Thakur Chawla with 16 votes, completing the four representatives the constitution requires.
- The SOM posts come from a 40-member roster set up under the National Sports Governance Act that includes 20 former male players and 20 former female players.
- The amended AITA constitution mandates two male and two female SOM representatives in the general body and provides for one SOM from each gender to sit on the 15-member Executive Committee.
- The change gives experienced players a formal role in governance and could shift federation decisions on athlete development, selection and tournament policy as AITA moves toward its next executive elections.