Suresh Kalmadi

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Suresh Rao Kalmadi (born May 1, 1944, Pune, Maharashtra) is an Indian politician and businessman. He hails from village called Kalmadi near Udupi.

Kalmadi is from the Indian National Congress. He is the president of the Indian Olympic Association, Asian Athletics Association, South Asian Athletic Federation and Athletics Federation of India.

He studied at St. Vincent's High School, Pune and Fergusson College, Pune. In 1960, he joined the National Defence Academy, Pune. In 1964, he joined the Air Force Flying Colleges in Jodhpur and Allahabad. He served the Indian Air Force from 1965 to 1974 as a pilot participating in the 1965 war and 1971 war with Pakistan.

In 1977, Kalmadi became the president of the Youth Congress, Pune and in the next year, the Youth Congress, Maharashtra which he served for 3 years. He has been a member of the Rajya Sabha continuously since 1982. He owns Sai Service Ltd., the biggest dealership of Maruti Udyog Ltd. in Mumbai.

In 1989, he started the Pune Festival which is an annual socio-cultural event held in Pune.