S2H Team

India’s Narinder Dhruv Batra edged out Belgium’s Marc Coudron by the narrowest of margins to be re-elected President of the FIH for a second four-year term but one which ends in 2024 after the poll was delayed by a year because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Batra won 63 of the votes to 61 by Coudron thereby attaining the required absolute majority of more than half the votes numbering 124 submitted by member National Associations in elections conducted on Saturday, May 22. In his first election, he got 68 out of 124.

The elections formed part of the 47th FIH Congress session which was conducted virtually. The agenda also included forums to discuss matters crucial to the sport, among them hockey’s global status and development.

Batra congratulated Coudron on his efforts and addressed the world community saying: “I would personally like to thank all of the National Associations for showing faith in me by electing me for a second term as President of FIH. I pledge my assurance to you all that I will work towards my election priorities over the next three years.”

File picture showing when Batra was elected one of the IOC members in India

In addition to Dr Batra’s re-election, Danae Andrada Barrios and Hazel Kennedy were both re-elected to the FIH Executive Board as women’s members. Danae Andrada Barrios and Hazel Kennedy received 70 and 66 votes respectively, just ahead of Inez Cooper who received 63 votes.

Tayyab Ikram and Erik Cornelissen were re-elected unopposed to the FIH Executive Board as men’s members.

Coudron, 51, is Belgium’s most capped player with 358, and in his manifesto committed to quit his post in the Belgium Olympic Committee to concentrate on the FIH presidency should be elected. He also said that developing hockey across the board, not just the top nations, would be his quest.

Batra has often been criticized for not devoting 100 percent to hockey and was torn between the presidency and his role as chief of the Indian Olympic Association. He also faces a difficult task of hauling the FIH out of deep financial problems, much caused by the pandemic but also significantly emanating from the ambitious FIH Pro League which has placed the apex body on the wrong side of the ledger.

All the same, Batra, in his pre-election speech, promised to pursue 11 key objectives if elected. He also detailed the efforts made by the FIH since the previous 46th FIH Congress that took place in New Delhi, India in 2018, referring to the launch of various new events including the FIH Hockey Pro League, FIH Nations Cup and FIH Hockey5s World Cup as well as the approval of the eight-year global hockey calendar.

Batra also talked about the progress made in his previous tenure. He spoke of strides taken in development and promotion – citing the success of the Watch.Hockey app. Batra also spoke about governance and sustainability especially vowing commitment to develop a waterless pitch for hockey.

Most of the FIH Award winners were revealed on Friday, the FIH President’s Awards – for long and valuable services to hockey, whether direct or indirect – were announced for the Congress session itself, with 10 awardees being revealed.

Pawan Munjal: Joined Hero Honda Motors in the early 1980s and took over as Managing Director of Hero Honda Motors in 2001, successfully overseeing the company’s transition from Hero Honda to Hero Motocorp in 2011.

Francesco Ricci Bitti: An Italian sports administrator and former President of the International Tennis Federation, Francesco Ricci Bitti was a member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations Council and is the current President of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations.

Maureen Craig-Rousseau: Joined the FIH Executive Board in 2014 and has over 30 years experience serving the sport in various administrative roles, being Director and Vice President of the Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF) and a hugely experienced Tournament Director and Technical Official.

Shri. V Karthikeya Pandian: Private Secretary of the Chief Minister of Odisha, the Indian state that has and continues to be a huge champion of the sport of hockey.

Yoshida Motohito: Known as the father of Japanese hockey, Yoshida Motohito is the Honorary President of Asian Hockey Federation as well as being a former Chair of the AHF Promotion Committee and former President of Japan Hockey Association.

Nii Quaye-Kumah: A well respected Technical Official from Ghana, Nii Quaye-Kumah has been active at numerous world level events down the years, who has also had a distinguished period of service with Ghana Hockey.

David G Collier: An English sports administrator in hockey and cricket, David G Collier is a former international umpire and respected Technical Delegate who was the Chair of the FIH Rules Committee until this Congress, when the term of office ended.

Roger St-Rose: A former Trinidad & Tobago international player, umpire and Umpires Manager, Roger St-Rose has also been on various FIH and PAHF Officials committees in the latter part of his 40+ year involvement in the sport.

Bob Claxton: The Secretary General and Treasurer of the Oceania Hockey Federation, the Australian has a 60+ year association with the sport and has been instrumental in the growth of hockey in the Pacific Island region.

Kim Myung Sung: An Executive Board member of Asian Hockey Federation and Chairman of AHF Governance Panel and member of the AHF Finance committee who is also vice president of the Korean Hockey Association.

Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), was honoured with the FIH President’s Award for Peace and Friendship. The German responded by saying: “This award belongs to the whole of the IOC and the entire Olympic movement, because without the support of so many, the achievement of peace and friendship in sport could never be accomplished.”

In a another message to mark the start of the 47th FIH Congress, Dr Bach described the upcoming Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 as being “the light at the end of a very dark tunnel”, while praising the FIH Hockey Pro League that has shown international sporting fixtures can be staged safely in these difficult times.