Hockey rift costs India staging rights

The international governing body for the sport, which had earlier threatened to move the elite tournament out due to the ongoing war between Hockey India (HI) and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), confirmed its decision on Tuesday, saying India had paid the price for the current administrative row over the governance of the game in the country.

“We regret that we have to move the Champions Trophy from India,” said FIH president Leandro Negre in a statement. “It is difficult for the teams, the organisers and the fans.

But we feel that this is the only way to maintain the integrity of our sport.”

Denied automatic entry because they are no longer the hosts, India has now been invited to play the lower tier Champions Challenge to be held in South Africa in November.

Replacement host

The FIH is expected to name a replacement host for the Champions Trophy within a week. While India may feel peeved at the FIH’s not unexpected move, hockey administrators have only themselves to blame for not heeding repeated warnings from the world body.

The HI and the IHF have been at loggerheads for over two years now. In an effort to put an end to the tussle, Sports Minister Ajay Maken formulated a compromise settlement in late July. After much wrangling, the warring bodies reached a “working relationship” agreement until December 2012, to the surprise and astonishment of many.

The FIH immediately denounced the move, stating that the IHF would continue to remain derecognised, and that India risked losing not just the Champions Trophy but also the Olympic Qualifiers, scheduled for February 2012 in New Delhi.

On Tuesday, HI Secretary-General Narinder Batra hit out at the FIH decision, accusing the world body of “blackmailing” and “interference.”

 “We are shocked and disappointed,” he thundered.

Interestingly enough, FIH boss Negre is scheduled to meet Maken in New Delhi on September 13 to express the world body’s disapproval of the HI-IHF “working relationship.”

“I will try to convince Negre to change the decision,” Maken said.  “My main aim is to see that the Olympic Qualifiers (Feb 15-26, 2012) stay in India.”