Stokes resigns, paves way for HI reaffliation

Hockey India president Vidya Stokes has resigned. Only three months back, Stokes had defied the government’s age limit guidelines to be elected as the federation chief.

On Wednesday, Hockey India in a statement said that Stokes, within days of her elections, had informed the Sports Ministry that she will quit after the Commonwealth Games.

“This is as per her commitment made to the Union Sports Minister at the inauguration of the high-altitude synthetic pitch at Shilaroo, Himachal Pradesh, in February this year. Stokes had said then that she would step down as president only after the Commonwealth Games as India was the host for these prestigious Games,” the statement said.

However, it is interesting to note that this apparent promise to Sports Minister M S Gill to quit as early as February was never made public even during the time of the elections.

Stokes’ surprise resignation means a younger administrator is likely to takeover. In all likelihood, the move is seen as a way to appease the Sports Ministry, which had de-recognised HI for flouting its age guidelines.

The 83-year-old Stokes, however, gave a different reason, saying she was busy with her political career and could not spare enough time for hockey. “I have to travel a lot because of my political career and I cannot find the time. That is why I have decided to step down,” Stokes said.

She has tendered her resignation to Secretary General Narinder Batra. Batra has been given all additional charge and will be in a position to conduct all duties as the president in an interim measure till the necessary arrangements are made by the Hockey India executive board and ratified by the general council.

Stokes had earlier won an acrimonious election in August this year where she defeated former Olympian Pargat Singh by a 41-21 margin.

The Sports Ministry had issued show-cause notices to both Hockey India (HI) and the KPS Gill-led Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), asking the two bodies to clarify as to how they proposed meet the guidelines of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and the government.