FIH initiates talks

FIH president Leandro Negre hinted it two days back that he will have some good news to share during the course of the on-going Hockey Olympic qualifying tournament.

On Friday, he took the first step towards reconciliation by formally initiating talks with Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) president RK Shetty in the Capital.

But what forced FIH to warm up to the IHF is no secret as it sees India as an important market for future events. DNA has also learned that even before the Friday’s talks, there were a few informal sessions between the two parties. These discussions did not involve Hockey India (HI) officials.

Negre went to former IHF president KPS Gill’s residence on Friday morning. IHF president Shetty was also present during the meeting and it was mutually decided to take the discussion further by having another round of meeting. This was an important development as Negre was meeting Gill for the first time after the IHF’s derecognistion.

Shetty told this paper that the talks were “constructive and positive”. He also expressed happiness over the fact that FIH is directly involved in the talks this time round. “We all know that a solution to this problem will be good for Indian and world hockey. Let’s hope for the best,” added Shetty.

The sports ministry has also played a key role in bringing the warring factions together.

A top HI official said FIH is talking to IHF with an open mind and a solution could be reached as early as Monday. FIH is likely towork on thrashing out the contentious issues — WSH, power-sharing and framing of a new constitution.

IHF has apparently let FIH know that it wants WSH to go as per schedule and there would be no compromise on this issue. — CSL