Joe Williams
PUNE: Former hockey boss says the people who run the Olympic body have no idea about the game

Aslam Sher Khan has been replaced by Ajit Pal Singh as the head of the selection committee. What is your take on that move?

My take? (laughs). This is just the beginning. Wait and watch. There is much more in store for them. Aslam Sher Khan was a good choice, but I have come to know that some people within the committee were not happy with him, and that is the reason.

Did you have any inkling that the committee was a divided house?

You can visualise it for yourself. It has been hardly a few months since they have come together and there is already trouble.

Will the Indian Olympic Association triumph in their mission of taking Indian hockey back to its glory days?

No. The record of the Indian Olympic Association is miserable, and with such a track record what can one expect from them? They (IOA) have no idea about the game, and with such people in the helm I can only feel sorry for the sport.

This ad-hoc committee is made up of Olympians. Surely they know the game…

The ad-hoc committee is fine, but what about the people in the IOA who are calling the shots? There are big differences between these two bodies, I am afraid this means that they will not be able to accomplish their mission.

Do you think this ad-hoc committee will be successful?

They said they would be when they took over. So far nothing positive has happened. No, it is only the IHF that can run the game in our country. It is not an easy job. It is a battle out there and only tough soldiers can win it.

We have retained the Junior Asia Cup, which we won in Karachi. Isn’t that a boost to the ad-hoc committee?

They are taking credit for someone else’s hard work. But for the Hyderabad Hockey Association, who managed to run the show, it would have been pathetic. They (IOA) are a big body but they could not even telecast the final match live. This shows their weak intentions.