Stokes steps into Mattoo breach

By Tushar Bhaduri in New Delhi

VETERAN politician Vidya Stokes was chosen as caretaker president of Hockey India on Monday, when the World Cup campers received the first installment of the money promised when the payment dispute was resolved last week.

It was also a day when Hockey India sources revealed the names of the 34 units that the unified body has given affiliation to. Madhya Pradesh, which never applied for affiliation, is the only state without any representation at the election.

After AK Mattoo quit his post following the stand- off with the players, Stokes, Hockey India’s senior vice- president, stepped in till a new body is formed after the February 7 elections.

Treasurer Narinder Batra took over the responsibilities of general secretary as well. The general secretary’s post was lying vacant after Mohammad Aslam Khan resigned in November. However, it is surprising that poor health was cited as the reason for Mattoo’s departure.

“ The executive body met today to discuss Mattoo’s resignation.

He said he was not well and didn’t want to continue. We tried to convince him, but he didn’t agree. So, the executive body accepted his resignation,” Stokes said. “ It’s a temporary phase and as I’m senior vicepresident, I have been chosen to take over till the elections are,” Stokes, president of the erstwhile Indian Women’s Hockey Federation ( IWHF), said.

Meanwhile, in Pune, Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi handed the players and the coaching staff cheques. It was the money team sponsor Sahara India released to break the deadlock.

On the election front, Wrestling Federation of India president GS Mandher has been appointed as returning officer while Hockey India has finalised the names of representatives from 34 affiliated units who will attend the polls.

However, sources said the list — accessed with M AIL T ODAY — has not been circulated amongst the units as part of transparency.

LIST OF OFFICIALS

( read as state, president, secretary) J& K: Narinder Batra, Mohinder Kaur; Bihar: Jyoti Mehta, Mushtaque Ahmed; Chandigarh: Chandra Shekhar, YP Vora; Arunachal Pradesh: Nima T Khimre, Gunjum Hyder; Haryana: ML Payal, Sunil Malik; HP: Vidya Stokes, Anurag Thakur; Maharashtra: Victor Elis, Ikram E Khan; Meghalaya: Nirmal Aich, Raj Kakati; Nagaland: L Kiri, Vipehrezo; Andaman & Nicobar: S Ravinderan, Abdul Razaq; Tripura: Ratanlal Nath, Zayanta Bhomik; UP: Sanjay Singh, JN Tyagi; Assam: Himanta Biswa Sharma, Tapan Kumar Das; Orissa: Ananga Mohapatra, Pratap Satpati; Uttarakhand: Neeraj Singh, Rajeev Mehta; Andhra Pradesh: Dinesh Reddy, K Niranjan Reddy; Mizoram: H Khiangte, Lalrampari and K Lalthen Gliana; Gujarat: ID Nanavati, Ashok M Patel; Bengal: JB Roy, Gurbux Singh; Chhattisgarh: Anil Verma, Neeta Dumre and Firoz Ansari; Manipur: Thoiba Singh, M Manglam Singh; Jharkhand: TP Sinha, Peer Mohammad; Karnataka: RK Shetty, K Krishna Murti; Goa: Chruchill Alemao, Farell Fartado Gracias; TN: NR Radhakrishnana, Renukalakshmi; Rajasthan: Shobha Singh, Arun Kumar Saraswat; Pondicherry: A Aladi Mahendran, R Ejilane; Punjab: Sukhbir Singh Badal, Pargat Singh; Delhi: Raj Chopra, Amrit Bose; Kerala: Sunil Kumar, Ramesh Kolllappa; SSCB: Capt UK Thapa ( secy); RSCB: Rakesh Yadav ( secy); Universities: Gurdeep Singh ( secy); AI: Ramesh Nambiar ( secy)