HI polls: Vidya Stokes vs Pargat Singh

Vidya Stokes, 83, of Himachal Pradesh has had a long innings in sports administration, having been the head of the Indian Women’s Hockey Federation from 1984.

She was beaten by Arnavaz Damania in 1990 but came back to power four years later. Stokes has been in hockey administration ever since.

She took over as the chief of Hockey India (interim body) from AK Mattoo after he resigned early this year. She was faced with a rebellion by the women’s hockey team seeking settlement of monetary dues as soon as she assumed power. An elegant, soft-spoken woman, Stokes is a member of the Congress, has held position as minister and is an MP.

In this election, Stokes’ age is her greatest disadvantage, as she has crossed the limit of 70 stipulated by sports ministry’s guidelines. But she and Hockey India have rejected the norm.

With IOA’s backing and associations, Stokes is aiming to be the first elected president of the unified body.

Pargat Singh, 45, of Jalandhar, Punjab, was a fullback and penalty corner hitter of repute who shone as a junior and made his debut in the senior ranks in the mid-80s. Aggressive and self-assertive, he led the Indian hockey team in two successive Olympics in 1992 and 1996. Pargat also had a short, uninspiring stint as India’s chief coach in the late 90s.

By then, his disillusionment in the system was evident, as he had begun voicing his opposition to the ad-hoc ways of the federation. Pargat’s skills as an administrator became evident when took over as the director of sports, Punjab in 2005. Some of the first include hike in budgetary allocation, training and appointment of coaches, increase in cash awards etc.

A fighter, he took on IOA chief Suresh Kalmadi and Hockey India even as he convinced various factions within Punjab to unite to form Hockey Punjab.
Pargat has set his agenda well in advance, that is to bringing warring factions together like he did in Punjab and professionalise the game with experts from various fields.