Hockey India is a must-have and a minefield

By Neeru Bhatia

Think Indian hockey; think mess. If you thought it could not get messier, think again. The last 14 months saw the sport spiralling into chaos and turmoil. Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi recently disaffiliated the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and the Indian Women’s Hockey Federation (IWHF) triggering protests from hockey administrators. In June, Kalmadi announced the formation of Hockey India (HI), a unified organisation that will look after both men’s and women’s streams of the game.

Last year, all hell had broken loose when a bribery scandal allegedly involving erstwhile IHF secretary K. Jothikumaran broke out. After M.S. Gill became the Union sports minister, Kalmadi was under pressure to act and he suspended the K.P.S. Gill-run IHF in April 2008. Since then, the IOA has been managing hockey through its ad hoc committee; most state associations had expressed angst over the IOA running the show. A complaint was that the committee held no senior, junior or sub-junior national events.
But the IOA was reluctant to relinquish control and dragged its feet on setting up a democratically elected federation. The jolt came when a frustrated International Hockey Federation (FIH) threatened to shift the 2010 World Cup from Delhi, if India did not have a unified national association. It also threatened to bar India from participating in international events.

The FIH’s newly elected president Leandro Negre had come to Delhi in March to review preparedness for the World Cup. He met M.S. Gill, who reportedly urged him to put pressure on the IOA, as the ministry cannot interfere in autonomous sports bodies.
Thus was born HI, registered as a society on May 20. “[The] Sports ministry and the International Hockey Federation have been apprised of the formation of HI,” Kalmadi said. But this time, too, the IOA nominated its own officials as office bearers-A.K Mattoo as president and Mohammed Aslam Khan as secretary-general. Khan was convener of the ad hoc committee.

The general response to the ad hoc committee had been hostile. “In the last 12 months, the IOA finished hockey,” said an IHF official. Bengal Hockey Association president J.B. Roy said the situation had “gone from bad to worse, with no one doing anything.” Roy is deputy managing worker of Sahara India Pariwar and brother of Sahara group chief Subrata Roy Sahara.

The FIH, too, admitted infighting had taken its toll on Indian hockey. It had initially granted conditional acceptance to HI, but later waived the terms and granted full affiliation. Surprisingly, full affiliation was granted even though HI had not held elections nor merged state units.

The IHF, IWHF and state associations affiliated to them are gearing up for war. Roy and IWHF secretary Amrit Bose sent a letter to Negre, saying they have the support of 22 men’s and 20 women’s state associations. “There seems to be a communication gap,” they wrote. “You had clearly indicated to us that the mechanism to be adopted will be completely democratic and this purported letter (if true) [letter of affiliation] would be seen as support to a completely undemocratic manner of functioning. We would request you not to act in haste…”

Roy and Bose met M.S. Gill, who told them that the ministry was watching the situation closely. He urged them not to go to court, as more complications would further erode the image of Indian hockey.

The current confusion has also seen enemies turn friends and enemies again. To fight the IOA and Kalmadi, K.P.S. Gill joined hands with bête noire Roy. But when the former top cop towed Jothikumaran along, Roy and Bose objected. Gill immediately jumped ship and joined the Kalmadi camp. The same day Kalmadi announced HI’s formation, he had met with Gill, the man he had ousted from Indian hockey.

Said Roy to THE WEEK: “I am not willing to share space with Jothikumaran. The IOA sacked these people and is now shaking hands with them. It would be unfortunate if Gill and Jothikumaran return to the hockey fold. I just want elections. I asked Negre and M.S. Gill that why was Kalmadi calling the existing stakeholders?”
So while Roy and Bose claim majority on one side, HI now has Gill and IWHF president Vidya Stokes claiming that they have requisite numbers, triggering a vertical split among the hockey federations and state associations. Stokes is also senior vice-president, HI.

A state association secretary told THE WEEK that Kalmadi had two reasons to keep Gill close. One, Gill had challenged the IOA’s decision to suspend him and two, he would help the IOA break Roy’s hold over IHF state associations.” The Gill-Kalmadi alliance could mean that the former top cop and Jothikumaran may together run HI. Jothikumaran recently won a case in the Madras High Court, where he challenged his sacking from the Tamil Nadu Hockey Association on grounds of corruption.

In view of the World Cup, HI has sent a circular to state Olympic associations to “work towards giving official recognition to a single hockey association”. The note means that the men’s and women’s associations in the state would have to be merged. “It is a very dicey situation,” said a state hockey official. “Every state has problems. They [IOA] should have applied their minds while deciding on this.”

States like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab have more than one association. For example, Maharashtra has the Mumbai Hockey Association, Vidarbha Hockey Association and the Pune-based Maharashtra State Hockey Association. So all three would have to merge first and then merge with the state women’s association to form a unified hockey association affiliated to HI.

Meanwhile, national hockey teams are living by the day. The new national men’s hockey coach, Jose Brasa, is currently holding a camp in Pune. He was handpicked by FIH and is sponsored by the Union sports ministry. The women’s team won Champions Challenge II held at Kazan, Russia, and is preparing for the Champions Challenge I to be held in South Africa; it is the qualifying event for the Champions Trophy.

Courtesy: The Week