Gill may be back as supremo
14 Jun 2009Biswajyoti Brahma,TNN

NEW DELHI: Is Indian hockey headed for another term under KPS Gill? The latest, and dramatic, developments in the corridors of the game clearly indic
ate so. On Sunday, the president of the suspended Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), Gill, announced the formation of an alliance with Hockey India, which threw up several possibilities, including the one that could see the reins of the game going back to the former Punjab Police chief.

The new equation has much significance since it would give Gill a chance to redeem himself after being disgraced following the dissolution of the IHF a little over a year ago. It now puts him in a position where, with the support of his loyalists and the backing of IOA top bosses, he can reclaim the top post whenever there’s an election to Hockey India. Clearly, the new partnership is an attempt to thwart the growing influence of JB Roy, brother of Sahara’s Subroto Roy, who is a presidential aspirant.

Gill, after a meeting of the suspended IHF which he claimed was attended by representatives from 20 states and three union territories, said the move was aimed at making the process of forming Hockey India smoother. But he gave it all away when he said, “all members of the IHF who have contributed to hockey for the last so many years should continue to be in the new body which would be formed.”

Gill came up with Mirza Ghalib couplets to sidestep queries on the possibilities of his becoming hockey chief again. One interesting aspect was that the meeting was attended by Hockey India’s secretary Mohammad Aslam Khan. “The issue (of the alliance) is hockey here. We want to have a body which represents everybody in the loop. This is nothing new or extraordinary. The procedure was on for a long time.”

Sources in the Gill camp, meanwhile, revealed that it was the IOA president Suresh Kalmadi who had initiated the partnership. Gill also said he met with Kalmadi and some top officials of Hockey India in the last few days. Just a few days back there were talks of JB Roy and KPS Gill joining hands to break IOA’s clout in the Hockey India elections. But Kalmadi seemed to have managed to convince Gill to stay away from the Roy-led group.

There was also the K Jothikumaran issue. Gill wanted Jothikumaran, who was his secretary in IHF, to be a part of the proposed alliance with Roy, but the latter was against it. In fact, in Sunday’s press conference, Jothikumaran too was present.

Gill, meanwhile, said a committee has been formed to work for the merger of the men and women units in the states before Hockey India elections. The committee will have six members from both the sides. “They will work out the modalities of the merger within the next 45 days,” Gill said. He also said those state units, with Roy, should join hands with the new alliance to help in the formation of Hockey India. “Five, six or seven members who have gone to Amby Valley should join the process,” he said referring Roy’s conclave in Amby Valley where some state units met on Sunday.

Gill also said both the parties will sit together and decide on the court case that was filed after the dissolution of the IHF.