LAYERS OF LEGACY

For more than two decades, Suresh Kalmadi stood at the heart of Indian sport— admired, criticised, powerful, and endlessly debated.

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His story was never linear; it was layered with ambition, controversy, achievement, and consequence. Born in Madras in 1944 and shaped in Pune, the city he would later represent and deeply influence, Kalmadi’s journey was never confined to one role. Before politics and power, there was discipline and duty—ten years in the Indian Air Force as a commissioned pilot and instructor, retiring as a Squadron Leader. That grounding in precision and command would later define the way he approached administration: assertive, driven, and unafraid to take ownership. Politics followed naturally. Sharad Pawar spotted the spark early, and Kalmadi rose rapidly through the Congress ranks, eventually becoming Rajya Sabha MP multiple times, Lok Sabha MP thrice, and a Union Minister. But it would not be Parliament that shaped his public identity. It was sport.