New Delhi: Suresh Kalmadi’s long career as a sports administrator came to an embarrassing end, at least for the time being.

On Monday he lost in his bid to be re-elected as president of the Asian Athletics Association (AAA) for a fourth term.

In a closely-contested election on his home turf, Pune, the former Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president went down to Dahlan Jumaan al-Hamad of Qatar 20-18 on the eve of the Asian Track and Field Championships.

Ousted from all official positions in Indian sport after being jailed and then released on bail because of his involvement in the 2010 Commonwealth Games-related corruption, Kalmadi was heavily banking on Monday’s AAA elections. The loss has left him without any official post in any major association.

“The defeat of Kalmadi will have an effect on Indian sport,” said a senior Athletics Federation of India (AFI) official from Pune.

“One thing is clear… Kalmadi has lost his grip over the associations he ruled with an iron hand for so many years. This loss could have an effect in the politics of Indian sport, especially the IOA,” the official added.

Last year, the Ethics Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had suggested that tainted sports administrators like Kalmadi, Lalit Bhanot and VK Verma should not be allowed to be part of Olympic movement. Yet, Bhanot contested successfully for the post of secretary-general in IOA, while the Kalmadi group worked behind the scenes to ensure that several candidates won.

On Sunday, Bhanot flew to Pune to oversee Kalmadi’s election campaign. The move proved futile as the opponent camp, sources claimed, launched a whispering campaign about Kalmadi’s role in the Commonwealth Games scam.

“Not everything was fair in the election… Seven votes were cancelled. These votes could have swung the election in Kalmadi’s favour,” an Indian official said.

It is believed that International Association of Athletics Federations’ boss Lamine Diack of Senegal, who was present in Pune, backed the man from Qatar. He later said that he was not happy with the progress of the AAA.

Kalmadi congratulated Hamad for the victory. “I am relieved that I will now be able to work at the grassroots level in athletics,” he added.

PK Deb, the secretary, sports ministry said: “For the last few years, we have been trying to bring about a certain amount of clarity and transparency in the way sport in this country is run and we would continue to do so.”.

Milkha Singh welcomed Kalmadi’s ouster saying the Pune strongman should concentrate on politics, but former stars like Gurbachan Singh Randhawa and Anju Bobby George felt Kalmadi did a lot for the improvement of sport.