Industrialist Asit Pradhan became the new president and eminent judo coach Gitanjali Panda were elected as president and secretary respectively of the Odisha State Judo Association (OSJA) for a four-year term (2024-2028) on 29 December 2024. Election of office-bearers was held during the annual general meeting at the Maharaja Institute of Advanced Computing and Research, Gangapada, Bhubaneswar.

While Pradhan became the new president, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Panda returned to the post of secretary after a gap of eight years. The post of president was lying vacant after the demise of former bureaucrat Priyabrata Patnaik in July 2020.

Former secretary Purna Chandra Mishra was elected as vice-president, while Lopamudra Pati and Shradhanjali Panda claimed the posts of joint-secretary and treasurer respectively.

Gyanaranjan Mohanty, Subash Chandra Behera, Chandrasekhar Bahuk, Binash Kumar Mishra, SA Rehan and Debendra Jain were nominated to the executive committee, while Laxmidhar Behera, Akesh Kumar Behera and Sudhanshu Kumar Panda were chosen as new members.

Kandan Murmu was named as the chairman of the Technical Committee. Representatives from 22 affiliated district associations participated in elections, which was conducted by CA Prashant Kumar Nayak as the Returning Officer.

West Bengal Judo Association secretary Tapan Bakshi was present as Judo Federation of India (JFI) observer. Ashok Sahu and Ajay Kumar Behera were also present as representatives of Odisha Olympic Association and the Department State Sports and Youth Services (DSYS), Govt of Odisha.
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PHOTO: OSJA office-bearers (L-R) Kandan Murmu, Purna Chandra Mishra, Asit Pradhan, Gitanjali Panda and Lopamudra Pati pose after elections on 29 December 2024.