WHILE controversies and Indian hockey have always gone hand in hand, of late they’ve shown special affinity for each other. Even as the IOA continues to stoke the Ric Charlesworth fire, a new issue is likely to ruffle a few feathers.

As of now, the Indian Hockey Federation stands suspended, with the Indian Olympic Association running the show.But with the Asian Hockey Federation set to meet in Hyderabad to discuss a few issues on Thursday, it remains unclear who will represent India at the meeting.

K Jothikumaran, who used to be the secretary of the IHF until the body was suspended, is the elected member of the Asian Hockey Federation and according to sources, could be attending the council meeting. But given that he was elected in this capacity as the secretary of the IHF, it’s not clear if his election to the Asian body remains valid.

P Alagendra, the secretary-general of the AHF, told The Indian Express that, “all elected members of the council are expected to be at the meeting”. The elections for the AHF council were held in 2006 for a term of four years and, it seems, the internal churning going on in the IHF has no bearing on the AHF elections. When asked who would be India’s representative at the meeting, Alagendra refused to comment, only saying,”Who ever was elected (in 2006) will be present. No elected member has been debarred from the meeting,” indicating that Jothikumaran was welcome.

But convenor of the IOA ad-hoc committee, Mohammad Aslam Khan, said that India would be rep resented by himself and IOA president Suresh Kalmadi at the meeting. It remains unclear whether they are entitled to do so, given that the council is, after all, an elected body Jothikumaran himself remained non-committal on the meeting. When asked if he would be attending, he simply said he “may or may not attend” However, sources say that as of now Jothikumaran is sure to attend.