Hockey India poll today

Prabhjot Singh

Will Pargat Singh become country’s first ever Olympian to head Hockey India? Pitted against 83-year-old Vidya Stokes, the former All-India Womens’ Hockey Association chief and veteran Congress leader from Himachal Pradesh, and supported by all-powerful Suresh Kalmadi group, Pargat Singh, backed by strong lobby of past and present players, appears confident of making history tomorrow.

Olympians make successful National Sports Federations chiefs. India’s archrival and neighbour Pakistan that has done extremely well on international hockey scene after partition already had three Olympians at helm of affairs. Starting with AIS Dara, Pakistan has been served well by Brig SMH Atif and now Qasim Zia – both Olympians. Ramesh Patel, who was a member of the New Zealand team that shocked India in the opener of the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico, has been commanding the New Zealand Hockey Association very well.

Unfortunately, India has never before placed its confidence in the capabilities of an Olympian who understand the sport better than those who just administer it. “Vidya Stokes has had her innings. She has contributed her bit for 23 long years and now it is time for her to make way for much younger, energetic and more acceptable youngster to head the national hockey body,” says former international Gurdishpal Singh.

“Change and freshness,” he says, “will do the Indian hockey good. It is not only me but a long big family of hockey Olympians and internationals who all are looking forward to some freshness in running the affairs of our national game,” he adds.

“Sports administrators like Suresh Kalmadi have been working more for themselves than doing anything good for sports in the country. I wish they were in the construction or infrastructure development business than sports,” says another Olympian. Sukhvir Singh Grewal, a former international and coach of the 1992 Indian Olympic hockey team, feels that India could not get a better person than Pargat Singh to head its national body. “He is one person whom the entire hockey world recognises as a good player and an able administrator,” adds Sukhvir Singh Grewal.

Vidya Stokes on the other hand is hoping for support for her neat and clean image. Her added strength is unstinted support from the Suresh Kalmadi-led Indian Olympic Association as well as the ad hoc committee of the HI that had been holding the fort after dissolution of the Indian Hockey Confederation.

Interestingly, some of her former team members, including Secretary-General Amrit Bose, are supporting Pargat Singh and not her. Initially not included in the list of two representatives of the Delhi Hockey Association to attend tomorrow’s election meeting, Amrit Bose, had to seek legal recourse.