HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh top cop Dinesh Reddy was elected president of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) at its special general meeting in New Delhi on Monday.
Reddy takes over the reins of the national federation just a few weeks after the International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced that it recognised IHF as its representative in India.
This announcement came after the Delhi High Court reinstated it as the national sports federation in place of Hockey India.
Dinesh Reddy replaces RK Shetty who resigned a couple of weeks ago. Reddy, a senior vice-president till his elevation, is the head of the AP Hockey Association.
Incidentally, Dinesh Reddy, the director general of police, is the first person from Andhra Pradesh to head the top hockey body in the country. He takes over shortly after the Indian hockey team came last in the recent London Olympics.
“It is a big responsibility for me. We all know hockey is our national game and all Indians love this sport. But of late, the game is losing its sheen. I want to revive the sport and am confident of bringing back its old glory. My main focus is to live up to the aspirations of the hockey lovers,” Dinesh Reddy told TOI.
Moments after becoming the president, Dinesh Reddy announced that he would host the national women’s championship in Hyderabad at the end of this month.
“We are starting with the women’s nationals. We will also have a brainstorming session of all the officials to decide the future course of action towards development of hockey. We will also be attending the IOA elections on November 25. We have to sort out a few things with the IOA,” he said.
Will tap young talent, says Dinesh
On the tussle between Hockey India and the Indian Hockey Federation about which is the official body, Dinesh Reddy hoped that the issue will be solved soon. “I hope the dispute will be solved soon. As the matter is sub-judice, I don’t want to delve on it further,” he said.
He said that his team would focus on tapping the young talent with particular emphasis on introducing coaching programmes from school level.
“Our aim is to develop hockey from the grassroots level. We would focus on tapping young talent. We will also introduce coaching programmes from school level,” he said, adding that the IHF promoted World Series Hockey will go a long way in reviving its popularity. At Monday’s meeting, former IHF president K P S Gill, another policeman, was appointed chief advisor and patron of the IHF.