HI president questions IWHF meeting, terms it illegal

Calling Saturday’s executive meeting of the Indian Women’s Hockey Federation as illegal and a handiwork of few officials with vested interests, Hockey India president Vidya Stokes reiterated that the world body, FIH, had derecognised the IWHF way back in 2000 and any board meeting towards functioning of the sport is thus null and void.

In a statement released on Thursday, Stokes, who is also the IWHF chief, said that the meeting has not been convened by her. “The meeting being called by a few individuals of former IWHF on May 12 is invalid since it is not called by the president or with the approval of the president. IWHF was disaffiliated by FIH in 2000. Since the FIH statutes demanded men and women to merge as per IOC charter, hence in the year 2000 came into being the Indian Hockey Confederation (IHC) which was to handle both the men and women hockey in India.

Stokes added that IWHF secretary Amrit Bose, who has been against HI, was party to the merger. “During the process of merger of men and women bodies of IHF and IWHF, the secretary of IWHF Amrit Bose attended all the board meetings of Hockey India in which merged units were approved,” she said.