A day before merger talks, Gill alleges FIH, IOA and HI nexus

Sports Minister Ajay Maken has given an ultimatum to the HI and IHF to agree to the merger of the two bodies in their meeting tomorrow or else the government would take a decision on its own. But Gill said some crucial issues remained to be sorted out first.

"I am not against merger but whenever we meet the sports ministry officials tell us to forget about the past. How can you forget the past and take corrective measures about the future?" Gill asked.

"But everythings needs to be sorted out first. There has been a lot of mistrust and it's not from our end," said Gill, the current IHF Advisor.

Predictably, Gill was miffed with International Hockey Federation stance of not giving official sanction to World Series Hockey and launched an attack on the FIH for getting into a nexus with IOA in promoting HI.

"Nimbus has promised to pump in something to the tune of Rs 180 crore which is more than our sports budget. And don't forget the bulk of sports budget is spent on paying the SAI employees. For WSH, the players will at least be getting a good remuneration," Gill said.

"There is a nexus bewteen FIH and IOA to promote HI," he added.
He also attacked HI secretary Narinder Batra, calling him "two-vote Batra" and alleged that he is enjoying power without mandate.

Asked whether IHF is ready for an election, he said, "Why not? Let's have election for secretary and treasurer's post."

However, Gill was a on the defensive when asked whether the likes of  Arjun Halappa, Adrian D'Souza, Sandeep Singh, Sardar Singh and Prabhjot Singh did the right thing by skipping national camp to be present at the WSH function.

"They did seek permission from Grewal (camp co-ordinator S S Grewal) and he told the players that he would get back after speaking to Batra which he never did," he said.
Gill was also critical of former India captain ande HI Development Committee chairman Pargat Singh demanding life bans for the players for skipping the national camp.

"Why did Pargat speak to the media about banning the players rather than speaking to the players. And about Grewal, all I know is that during his playing career, he used to be so unfit that I would beat him easily during our badminton matches," said Gill in a typical response.