Indian hockey players immune to impasse
PUNE: While the slugfest continues between the recently-derecognized Hockey India and the freshly-recognised Indian Hockey Federation and all sides waiting for the Supreme Court’s final verdict on the matter, there seems no such tension on the ground proper. Neither the players, nor the team management are worried about what will happen if the reins of the game shift to the IHF’s control.
“Whats new? I have been witnessing the same chaos since I started playing. We have got used to it now. Our performance alone will be the yardstick to our selection. We are not concerned about who’s in power,” a player said.
Another player adds: “In the end, we are all playing for India, not for HI or IHF. So why should we be concerned? In any case, we know things won’t change.”
The moot point here, however, is who will select the Indian team for the Delhi Commonwealth Games, and December’s Asian Games in China? The men’s hockey camp has already begun at the Balewadi sports complex here and the selection trials to choose the 16-member squad are scheduled to be held on August 27 and 28. But who will pick the team?
With the government withdrawing recognition to HI, it has lost that right. But with the world hockey federation (FIH) throwing its support behind HI, in the process virtually taking on the sports ministry head-on, things have taken an interesting turn.
The IHF might have merged with it’s women’s counterpart (IWHF), but it is yet to hold its elections, thereby ruling the KPS Gill-led body out of the picture. And moreover, it has not got the FIH’s support either. It now seems it will be Hockey India selectors – Balbir Singh, Munir Sait, BP Govinda and Sita Mehta – and the two government nominees, Ajitpal Singh and Zafar Iqbal, who will select the team. “Yes, it will be the same set of selectors but without Hockey India,” sports ministry sources told TOI. “The recent SC orders, which gave powers to Hockey India to send a team to the World Cup, pertained only to that event.”