The Hockey World Cup may not be permitted to be held in India in 2010. The president of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has conveyed a very strong message to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) that if it does not put an elected hockey federation in place before the event, the event will move to Malaysia. Mr. K.P.S. Gill who had controlled the Indian Hockey Federation with an iron hand for decades was asked to quit in April 2008 on bribery charges made by players for being selected into the national team. Mr. Jothikumaran was the prime accused in the 2008 bribery scandal which forced the IOA to dissolve the Indian Hockey Federation and appoint an ad-hoc committee led by Aslam Sher Khan to oversee hockey administration in India.
KPS Gill has filed a suit in court against the dissolution of the federation. It is sad to see a geriatric policeman who did his country proud in the fight against terror in Punjab in the eighties unleashing a different kind of terror in India’s hockey administration. He should retire gracefully rather than try to impose himself on the country’s hockey administration by thinking he is the only person who can do the job. He is already an octogenarian and should meditate and do things which will give him salvation – his salvation would hopefully be Indian hockey’s deliverance!
It is now over a year since KPS Gill was removed from his post and the federation dissolved – Mr. Suresh Kalmadi (Minister for Sports) has still not found the time to have a federal, democratic hockey organization setup so far. When it comes to doing real work you can bet your bottom dollar that politicians will always be found wanting! Their title is just used for getting free jaunts overseas for “studying” administration of different kinds of sporting bodies or for enjoying sports extravaganzas like the Olympics, World Cups – Cricket, Hockey, Soccer etc. at taxpayer expense. The FIH president has told the IOA that if India does not have an independent and unique Hockey body to represent both men’s and women’s hockey in place before the World Cup, they have a Plan B in place – meaning the World Cup will be shifted to Malaysia which already has the infrastructure and the wherewithal to take up the tournament at short notice!
It is a shame that the FIH president, Mr. Leandro Negre had to express his displeasure and disappointment at the fact that even after a year of appointing the ad-hoc committee to oversea the hockey administration, the committee has failed to come up with a plan to set up an independent democratic hockey body for governing the sport in the country. The Sports Minister has not found the time or has not considered it important enough to force the issue! Unfortunately all the money and attention goes to cricket which is just played by a handful of nations in the world as opposed to almost half the world playing hockey! The committee could take tips from the BCCI in setting up the body and then its professional advise in commercializing the sport in India. With corporate sponsorship and ad revenue coming into the sport maybe we could once again harness the raw available natural talent to make India a world hockey power again. Let’s get hockey professionals and able and honest administrators to take part in the formation of the governing body and then ensure that they team up to have a nationwide administrative framework set-up for selecting and training the best available talent. I am sure if there is adequate money in the sport, some talent will start playing hockey again instead of trying for a cricket spot.
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