Olympic qualifiers in India

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

The Olympic qualification tournament in hockey will after all be held in India.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) Executive Board meeting in Lausanne on Saturday decided to confirm the earlier arrangement by which India was to host one of the qualification competitions here in February next.

Whatever doubts there might have been of India retaining the qualifiers because of the tussle in the hockey administration in the country were cleared on Saturday when the FIH President, Leandro Negre, rang up the Union Sports Minister, Ajay Maken, to convey the news.

Negre told the minister that the Board had unanimously decided to conduct the qualifiers and “other major hockey tournaments” in India, as scheduled.

Recognition

The FIH President also conveyed to Maken that the FIH had also decided to maintain its recognition of Hockey India as the National federation for the sport.

In his response, Maken expressed his satisfaction at the decision of the FIH and termed it as a “suitable and logical conclusion to the efforts that were made by the ministry, Hockey India and indeed the FIH.”

The FIH had threatened to de-recognise Hockey India following its compromise arrangement with the Indian Hockey Federation last July. HI Secretary-General Narinder Batra was summoned to Lausanne to explain the HI stand after the federation had given a written explanation.

There was also an apprehension that the Olympic qualifiers could meet the same fate as the Champions Trophy which was earlier moved out of the country by the FIH because of the uncertainty surrounding the administration.