The other day, I got a surprise phone call from Indian Hockey Federation secretary K.Jothikumaran, who is in the eye of a storm following India’s failure to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. Jothi, as he is popularly known, told me at the start he does not call journalists. That made it clear why he was calling me: I had written against his misdeeds, which he found difficult to stomach.
It ended up just being a polite conversation. Just two days before that call, Jothi was in town to be a part of the IHF post-mortem meetings which were held at KPS Gill’s residence. Insiders now tell me Jothi was trying to whip up a campaign against national coach Joaquim Carvalho and tried to rope in some former Olympians to buttress his case.
We all know, what with the epitaph scripted on Indian hockey, officials will try to pass the buck and never own responsibility. But what happened with Jothi is amazing. When the IHF brass met, the former Olympians were asked to give their suggestions on the cure for Indian hockey; apparently Jothi was asked not to be present at the meeting. Peeved at being ignored by supercop Gill, Jothi sulked, but it was of no use. In contradiction to the exalted status he has enjoyed over the years, Jothi was actually told to take down minutes of the meetings – something which he had never done in the last 12 years.
Back home, in Chennai, Jothi is again in trouble, according to my sources. Apparently, the man who called the shots from behind the scenes is being asked to account for revenues which came in for the Asia Cup held last year. According to conservative estimates, more than Rs 90 lakh was coughed up by sponsors which include BSNL, TI Cycles, and the Tamil Nadu government. The state hockey association is now asking Jothi to come clean and may even move the court using the RTI (Right To Information) Act.
For a man who was never accountable for IHF affairs, the sudden change of events has caught him by surprise. Apparently, just like the IHF, Jothi has rarely held meetings of his Tamil Nadu state unit. With a revolt brewing, he will in all likelihood again use his acumen to ensure no damage is done. Well, I do want to read Darwin’s Survival of Fittest Theory again!