Pankaj Lochan Mohanty elected president of Amateur Baseball Federation of India

Bhubaneswar: Pankaj Lochan Mohanty of Odisha was unanimously elected president of the Amateur Baseball Federation of India (ABFI) during the federation’s elections held in here on Tuesday.

The election to choose the office bearers of the national body was conducted on December 30 at Hotel Rosewood here, with representatives from 23 states taking part in the process. A total of 46 members participated in the voting.

Mohanty was elected unopposed after no other candidate remained in the fray for the top post. Arvind Kumar of Haryana was elected general secretary after the opposing candidate, Dillip of Goa, withdrew his nomination. For the post of treasurer, S. Venkatesh of Tamil Nadu emerged victorious, defeating Sweta of Telangana by 33 votes to 13.

In addition, four vice presidents, four joint secretaries and four executive body members were elected to the federation’s executive committee. All the newly elected office bearers will serve a four-year term.

The election process was overseen by Justice Debabrata Dash (retd.), who acted as the Returning Officer and supervised all procedural aspects of the poll.

Mohanty had earlier served as president of the federation from 2016 to 2019. During his previous tenure, several developmental initiatives aimed at promoting and strengthening baseball in India were undertaken. Officials said his experience in sports administration and widespread support within the fraternity led to his unanimous election.

The Baseball Association of Odisha extended its congratulations to Mohanty, with its secretary Sibananda Pradhan and president Prabodh Mohanty lauding his return to the helm of the national federation.