Khanna replaces Mattoo at IOA

M.S.Unnikrishnan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 18

Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games Suresh Kalmadi today accepted “with great reluctance” the resignation of Hockey India president AK Mattoo, who had also quit the various posts he held in the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the Organising Committee, as he took a decisive step to “retire” from sports administration.

Kalmadi then nominated Anil Khanna, secretary of the All India Tennis Association, as the treasurer of the Organising Committee. Anil Khanna, a chartered accountant-cum-businessman by profession, is also the president of the Asian Tennis Association.

Mattoo was caught in the cesspool of the hockey politics when the national campers at Pune went on a six-day strike, seeking clearance of their pending dues. Mattoo apparently felt that the unrelenting stand of the players and his failure to persuade them to end their strike had undermined his authority, and then took the decision to step down from all the posts he held in the IOA, HI and the OC of the CWG.

“It is with great reluctance and after consulting my senior colleagues I have decided to accept my colleague Mr Ashok Kumar Mattoo’s resignation as treasurer of the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi”, Kalmadi said here today.

“I wish I could have persuaded him to change his mind and not have to make this statement. We tried hard to convince Mr Mattoo to stay on but he has made up his mind. We have to respect his sentiments and accept his wish to retire from sports administration”, Kalmadi explained.

“We will miss his valuable inputs as we head to the home stretch of our preparations to host the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi. We will miss him in the office of the OC CWG 2010 Delhi. We wish to place on record our appreciation of his meticulous work over a number of years”, he added.

Meanwhile, Suresh Kalmadi presented incentive cheques to players and the support staff at the Balewadi training camp at Pune. Kalmadi said he was happy that Hockey India had given the players cheques as per his commitment to them last Wednesday and hoped that “this incentive would propel the boys to perform even better in the forthcoming Hero Honda FIH World Cup in New Delhi”.

Twelve players from among those rewarded are currently training in Lucknow for the South Asian Games at Dhaka. Hockey India said they would be presented their cheques when they come to Delhi next week. An amount of Rs 1 crore was paid to the players in accordance to what they had desired for their performances last year in the Punjab Gold Cup in Chandigarh, Azlan Shah Cup at Ipoh, Test series in Argentina, New Zealand and Canada, besides the Champions Challenge Tournament in December. Those who were part of the victorious Indian U-21 Asia Cup team at Hyderabad in 2008 were also rewarded