AGE CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi

Sept. 16: Hockey India on Wednesday replaced its ad-hoc selection committee with a new full-fledged five-member panel, comprising of experts from both men and women’s game.

The panel, appointed for a year, includes 1966 Asian Games gold medalist Col Balbir Singh, Olympian Muneer Sait, 1975 World Cup gold medalist B.P. Govinda, Arjuna Awardee Madhu Yadav and 2002 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Sita Mehta.

Hockey India secretary general Mohammad Aslam said the appointment of a full-fledged selection panel was mandatory since the ad-hoc set up had been dissolved back in June.

“After the formation of Hockey India, the ad-hoc body was dissolved. So, naturally the ad-hoc selection committee was also dissolved and the appointment of a new selection committee was pending,” Aslam was quoted as saying by an agency. “All five selectors are Olympians and have been appointed keeping in mind their vast experience of the game,” he added.

Interestingly, there is no chairman of selectors in the new committee as was the case with the ad-hoc panel, which was headed by former India captain Ajit Pal Singh. Apart from the five members, the selection panel will continue to have Ajit Pal and former India international Zafar Iqbal as government-nominated selectors.

Keeping the womens’ interest in mind, former India skipper Rupa Saini has also been appointed as a government-nominated selector.

“Apart from these five selectors, there are two government observers in Ajit Pal and Zafar for the men’s team and Rupa for the women’s team,” Aslam said.

“There won’t be any head of the selection committee and everybody will have an equal say in matters of selection,” he added.

Asked whether Hockey India had plans to pay the selectors in future in a bid to bring more accountability into the job, Aslam said, “Presently, we don’t have a sponsor for the national team but we are trying hard to get one. Once we get sponsors, we will definitely think about the matter.”