WSH postponed
Uthra G Chaturvedi
The World Series Hockey (WSH) has been pushed back to next year. However, there was no clarity on the participation of Indian players in the event as the two national bodies, Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and Hockey India (HI), haven’t yet come to a consensus.
A joint initiative of Nimbus Sports and the IHF, the WSH was originally scheduled to kickoff on December 17. But with the national camp for the Olympic qualifiers beginning on Tuesday in Bangalore, the organisers have rescheduled the event, with the opening ceremony and inaugural match to be held on February 29 and the final on April 1, 2012. The Olympic qualifiers will be held in New Delhi from February 15-February 26. “We have postponed the tournament and it will start after the Olympic qualifiers under the same format. We did not want to put the national players — who have signed contracts with us but later withdrawn under pressure — into any trouble,” IHF president RK Shetty told The Indian Express. He added that the decision was taken purely keeping the players’ interest in mind. “We also have the support of the Sports Ministry and the SAI, but we don’t want to put the players under any duress,” he said.
Monday’s decision by the BCCI to terminate Nimbus’s broadcast contract and encash their bank guarantee of Rs 2000 crore has also cast doubts on the organisers’ financial status. Shetty, though, refused to press the panic button. “The two issues are unrelated,” he said.
Regardless of the postponement, the complexities regarding the unsanctioned status of the event continue to exist. HI secretary Narinder Batra has made it clear that the WSH remains a non-recognised event, reiterating that the Indian team has its schedule till the Olympics planned out and there was no scope for relieving players. Also, the PIL filed against HI’s decision in the Delhi High Court and with the Competitions Commission of India (CCI) is up for hearing on Tuesday.