National championship in March

NEW DELHI: The National hockey championship will be held at Pune from March 2 to 15, the ad hoc committee of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced here on Tuesday after sorting out the differences among some key members of the panel.

The ad hoc committee was troubled by the cold war between its convenor Mohammad Aslam and a member Randhir Singh, also the IOA Secretary General, which ended up in the latter’s resignation.

Besides, the selectors’ complaint that they were being overlooked had made matters worse for the IOA, which had suspended the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) nine months ago. After a meeting of the ad hoc committee and the selection committee on Tuesday, the IOA sought to play down the sour episode.

“There was no rift in the ad hoc committee. I am handling the committee and wanted Randhir to handle other affairs. There is no infighting,” said IOA President Suresh Kalmadi.

Randhir admitted that issues had been sorted out. “Certain issues were raised at the meeting and a lot of positives emerged. The scope of the technical committee has been extended as two new members – Olympians Pargat Singh and Jagbir Singh – have been added to it,” he said.