He recognised the potential of Olympic sport when few in India did, built national and international events that still anchor the sporting calendar, and brought some of the world’s biggest names to Indian arenas. That legacy, however, was irrevocably stained by corruption allegations that led to his arrest and eventual fall from power. A career politician, Kalmadi’s first major foray into national-level sports administration was in 1987, when he became the president of the Athletics Federation of India, a position he held for 19 years. He assumed an even bigger role in Indian sport after he was elected as the Indian Olympic Association chief in 1996, marking the beginning of an uninterrupted 15-year tenure. It was in these roles, which he held simultaneously, that Kalmadi left a tangible impact on the sporting scene. In his capacity as the athletics head, Kalmadi – a multiple-time Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MP – brought some of the biggest international track and field stars for eight competitions in New Delhi from 1989 to 1998, including the Asian Championships …