Mumbai Hockey Association spurns Kalmadi’s truce offer

NEW DELHI: Mumbai Hockey Association on Sunday spurned Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi’s truce offer and said it would go ahead with the case it has filed in the Bombay High Court against Hockey India.

MHA secretary Gurbax Singh Grewal claimed Kalmadi had offered them Hockey India recognition, provided they withdrew the case but said it was too late.

“We are forced to decline the offer as we have full right to participation in the elections and deserve recognition with voting rights,” Grewal told PTI over phone.

“The sudden about turn by Kalmadi is not acceptable as we never had any official communication to our written request for recognition. We were left to ourselves like an orphan for the last 10 months,” Grewal said.

Taking a dig at the IOA chief, Grewal said, “Some people do not mature with age and Kalmadi asked us why we went to the media decrying the IOA and the HI.

“We have categorically told Kalmadi that we will not withdraw our case in Mumbai High Court and that IOA/HI could as well explain these in the Court when the case comes up next week (January 25),” Grewal said.

He said Kalmadi first used former player Dhanraj Pillay and then himself called MHA spokesman and Olympian Joaquim (Carvalho) to offer recognition.

“Kalmadi had first talked through Dhanraj Pillay on Friday morning to Joaquim from Pune and then in the evening, he himself called Joaquim to express his keenness in extending recognition at the Hockey India Annual General Meeting on February 7,” he said.

Grewal said MHA simply had no trust in Hockey India and there was no question of withdrawing the case.

“Even with the sponsors suspecting bungling in HI accounts, we do not have any faith in them and their functioning. We stick to the decision of the Executive Committee of the MHA in waiting for the Court’s decision. MHA is one of the few active associations in the country and we do want proper treatment meted out to us,” he said.

MHA moved the court after HI had refused to extend affiliation to the unit.