And Cup goes to infighting

Uthra G Chaturvedi

The senior men’s national championship kicks off here on Friday but the winners won’t be given the Rangaswamy Cup, the trophy that champions have been receiving since 1951. This is because the Rangaswamy Cup was given by the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) while the latest edition of the tournament is being conducted by Hockey India (HI).

Narinder Batra, HI secretary general, said, “The Rangaswamy Cup was by the IHF. Since the IHF itself doesn’t exist anymore, the winners will get a new trophy that we have got made.”

The absence of the Rangaswamy Cup is symptomatic of the ongoing tussle between the two federations for control of the Indian hockey.

Interestingly, the IHF had held the national championships in 2010, at the same venue, organized by the same people — the Madhya Pradesh sports department with the state government’s support. And the winners then — Mumbai — were presented the Rangaswamy Cup.

The Mumbai Hockey Association has refused to part with the trophy as they are no longer an affiliated unit in Hockey India.

MP hockey in doldrums

For a state that has been at the forefront of promoting the sport in the country for the past couple of years — giving cash awards, organizing tournaments and reviving competitions like the Obaidullah Gold Cup last month — Madhya Pradesh will not be a part of the national championship.

With no federation representing the sport in the state, because of wrangling between factions, the state will have the dubious distinction of hosting two consecutive national championships, by rival factions, without a team in either. The MP team that will take part instead will be from the MP sports academy in the city.

“We can’t do anything. There are court cases going on and no solution in sight. Even in Maharashtra three bodies were recognised by the IHF but we have managed trim it down to one affiliated unit. Here it has not been possible,” Batra said.