Hockey India Chasing Shadows?

By S. Thyagarajan

Chennai: It is clear now that the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) is yet to receive any official communication from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) or any authorised unit about the creation and functioning of Hockey India.
Although there was a discussion among the top brass during the junior World Cup final at Johor Bahru, officials in the AHF are in the dark about the happenings here; apart from receiving details of the meeting held at Aamby Valley by units representing men and women State associations.
The consensus during the meeting, which included the FIH president Leandro Negre and vice-president, Tony von Andorza, was to wait and watch without reacting to the developments. The AHF’s viewpoint at that juncture was to treat the whole issue as India’s ‘internal matter’.
This being the scenario, the AHF secretary general, Tan Sri Alagendra, has expressed surprise over a fax message sent by Madhavan, secretary, Competitions Committee in the AHF, which the latter had as an email from advisor Anupam Ghulati.
The e-mail says “This is to inform you that Hockey India is the new national body for Men & Women hockey in India. You are requested to send all communications in future to us only.”
This e-mail has been forwarded to Mr. Alagendra and M. Ueda, chairman, Competitions Committee, by Mr. Madhavan with a terse note “Please see e-mail from Hockey India.”
Mr. Alagendra notes that “apart from this I have not received any official notification.”
He is understandably surprised why the e-mail was sent to the Competitions Committee and that too by an individual claiming to be an advisor and not by the secretary-general if HOCKEY INDIA has the sanction to function as the official unit to represent the nation in the FIH.
While the much publicised visit to India by Mr. Negre did not come through — the FIH sources claim there was no programme of his travel from Johar Baru to New Delhi — officials travelled to Melbourne to call on the secretary, Peter Cohen, reportedly indisposed.
Yet to happen
The meeting sought by IOA president, Suresh Kalmadi, with J.B. Roy and Armit Bose on the eve of the hockey units’ meeting in Aamby Valley is yet to take place despite the fact that the two had accepted the invitation and intimated the IOA chief to indicate the date and time for a discussion.
The duo, however, had a long meeting with the Union Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, M.S. Gill, and detailed him on the meeting of the hockey units from across the country and the sentiments expressed during the meeting at Aamby Valley on June 15.
Is not everything getting curiouser and curiouser?

The Hindu