Elections, Examinations force IHF, KSHA to re-think on the National Championship dates

Bangalore: The ambitious plans of the Karnataka State Hockey Association to revive the Senior National Hockey Championship have found a hindrance, with many State associations expressing their difficulty in playing the Championship during the scheduled dates. The Championship, revived after a gap of four years, was scheduled to be held at the KSHA Stadium from March 16 to 31. But many affiliated units of the Indian Hockey Federation have sought a postponement citing the ensuing General Elections and school examinations as a reason.

In a telephonic conversation with Vijay Times on Monday, IHF Secretary-General K Jothikumaran on Monday, “We want the Nationals to be full fledged. We don’t want any of our affiliated units to be absent for reasons within our control. Therefore we have decided to defer the Nationals by about a month.”

It is also learnt that the international commitments of the Junior and Senior India teams played a major role in deciding on the postponement. The Senior team, which will participate in the Olympic Qualifiers in Madrid early March, is scheduled to tour Australia for the twin-leg tournament (April 12-24). Although no matches for the Indian team during the original dates of the Nationals, those in the know claim that the Chief Coach might advise the players for a rest. The junior team, on the other hand, is scheduled to play in a six-nation invitational tournament in Egypt from March 20-29.
But the most crucial factor that has forced the re-think of the dates for the Nationals is the request from the affiliated units.

The National Championship assumes importance in the very conduct itself. The last time the prestigious Championship was held was in Jammu in December 2000. With most of the State units hesitating to take up the expensive project of hosting 45-50 teams, the Championship went into a hiatus till KSHA took up the cause of promoting hockey. Having hosted the Nationals in all age-groups within a span of five years (the Senior Nationals in 1997, the Junior Nationals in 1999 and the Sub-junior Nationals in 2002), the KSHA had set out to enhance its reputation as the leading light in domestic hockey, when these sudden developments have forced a change in plan.

KSHA secretary Kannan Krishnamurthy said that postponing the Championship might be a blessing in disguise for the association to prepare themselves better. “Not that we aren’t ready to hold the Nationals in March. But with a little more time, we can be prepared better,” Krishnamurthy who is also a joint secretary of the IHF said. The Championship is now likely to start on April 25 and run till May 15.

Courtesy: Vijay Times