Gill back in the fold as Delhi, Punjab finally get affiliation

KPS Gill has finally returned to national hockey. The former IHF president, suspended two years back, is part of the ad-hoc committee of Hockey Delhi formed to represent the state at the Hockey India elections, now scheduled for February 7 after repeated postponements.

Announcing this, Hockey India president AK Mattoo said that Hockey Delhi — led by Delhi Olympic Association president Raj Chopra and including former Delhi Women’s Hockey Association president Amrit Bose, secretary Dr Sudarshan Pathak and Charanjit Raheja — and Hockey Punjab have been granted affiliation after going through the documents submitted by them.

Incidentally, there has been strong opposition to Hockey Delhi from former Delhi hockey members, who claim the body has been formed without the approval of the general body or the executive committee.

Hockey Punjab, meanwhile, has been in the middle of controversy, with the association denied affiliation earlier despite claiming to have followed all the guidelines laid down for the merger of various associations in the state. HP is led by Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal.

“We are glad to announce that we have drafted the final guidelines for the elections as approved by Mr Antonio von Ondarza (the FIH observer) and Mr SK Mendiratta (the government observer). The slight delay in schedule is because of the mandatory 21-day notice period to all affiliated units, and the fact that Mr Mendiratta will not be available from February 2 to 6,” Mattoo said.