IOA Acting President Professor Vijay Kumar Malhotra today said the whole agreement between the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and Hockey India (HI) worked out at the behest of sports ministry is a monumental exercise in confusion and futility. He described it as a bizarre “live-in” relationship.

He said IOA will never accept two federation for one discipline in the country. “We don’t want to open a Pandora box which will lead to a total chaos in Indian sports”.

IOA will only recognize one federation for one game and unless a unified body is formed to run hockey, it will not be acceptable.

He said IOA will never accept two co chairpersons for a one federation “this is not feasible and workable”.

Prof. Malhotra said he wondered whose “brain child” is this agreement because it has produced deformed child. “How can two separate entities will run a single sport,” he asked and said sports ministry should have pondered it over before hailing it as an “significant way forward’.

IOA is disturbed at this agreement because it is way forward for destablising the sports in the country.

As per the agreement, IHF and HI will continue fighting the court cases, and will have their own executives .Then how the game will be administered in case of a dispute between the two factions. If any body has any complaint, it should be referred to IOA Arbitration Commission.

The so called agreement is a blatant act enforced by the sports minister who wants to earn some brownie points. ”In his bid to be seen as a minister in action, he has become minister in distortion”.

Prof. Malhotra said it is not clear what this agreement has achieved. Instead of uniting the warring factions it has given ideas to other disgruntled elements in other sports federations.

This so called skewed agreement also further strengthens IOA’s stand that government should stay clear from interfering in the affairs of sports bodies.

IOA will never be a party to the dismemberment of National Sports Federation (s) which this so called agreement signals at. “It is a laughable and highly incredulous to call such agreement good for Indian sports” he said “IOA functions under the Olympic charter, it is there to protect the interest of Indian sports, to defend the autonomy of the NSFs and this agreement is violation of all that IOA stands for”.