The final word has not come officially, but signals are clear as to the merger talks between Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation. Yes, there is a kind of merger.

There will be a Working Committee to look after the day today affairs. A Joint Action Committee will be formed to tackle other issues. This arrangement will last till the Olympics.

These are the two clear things that seemed to have been agreed upon by the warring factions today at Shastri Bhawan, seat of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

The meeting, billed as the last in terms of Ministry’s unification efforts, started around 11 AM and is still going on after a break. The meeting is being attended by all the former IHF and IWHF bigwigs and HI bosses.

On the domestic hockey front, there will be a single nationals hereafter.