Indian players, officials shocked with apex body’s no to World Series Hockey

By Vivek Phadnis | Place: Bangalore

Indian hockey players, coaches and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) are not amused with the latest development in which the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said that the proposed World Series Hockey is illegal and unrecognised.

The tournament was to be a player’s delight with the promise of big money and glamour in hockey, much like the now-defunct Premier Hockey League. Since the players, numbering about 125, who have signed up, have already received a signing-up amount, it will be disastrous for them if the WSH does not go ahead. Mostly, players are not sure about what will happen and how to react to the confusion.

“Any player would obviously want to play for the country,” said midfielder Arjun Halappa. “The priority is to play for the country. Butsuch a tournament will provide an opportunity for many to shine. It will help in finding new talent.”

Indian team’s specialist drag flicker VR Raghunath said: “As a player, it is difficult to say much. But it is better if everyone sorts things out among themselves for the benefit of the game. If we get a chance to play, it will be good. The point is that we want to play.”

The WSH promises to benefit not only players but also coaches, umpires and technical officials.

Ramesh Parameshwaran, coach of the Indian Oil team that is mostly made up of top Indian players, said, “I will be happy for the players if the WSH takes place. A tournament like the IPL in cricket is so well-organised. Naturally, it attracts audiences. Hockey has planned a similar league and if there are so many problems even before the event starts, it sends out a bad signal. I think Hockey India or IHF should talk to the international body and settle things.”

Meanwhile, the IHF has said they are not looking at legal action. “We want to keep legal action as the last option. We hope the government will come up with a solution because the intention of this WSH is only to develop hockey. FIH has not spoken to us and we may talk to them in the coming days. Does the FIH have no regard for the court’s ruling that IHF is the recognised body in
India?” said IHF President RK Shetty.

“When we launched the WSH, there was no objection from the FIH. Why the change in stance now?” he questioned. “And they have even announced that they will conduct a similar league of their own. We have worked for more than six months to finalise this project. Coming down so heavily on the league is not right. They should be the big brother and help us out. Instead, they are doing this,” he rued.