JOIN USDesperately struggling to make its presence felt on the world stage, Indian hockey could have done without being stripped of the right to host the Champions Trophy in New Delhi later this year.
Not only would the tournament have attracted the world’s top teams, thereby raising the profile of the beleaguered sport in the country, but it would also have accorded India’s players a chance to rub shoulders with the best in the business. Now, India’s presence in the December 3-11 Champions Trophy is far from guaranteed, considering they now have to come through the Champions Challenge qualifying competition in November.
The International Hockey Federation’s decision to move the tournament out of India has understandably evoked consternation from the hockey fraternity in the country which, ironically enough, is singularly responsible for the current mess.
The stand-off between Hockey India, recognised by the world body as the governing unit of hockey in the country, and the derecognised Indian Hockey Federation has forced the country to pay a huge price. Power-hungry and bungling administrators must look inward before placing the blame at the doorstep of the FIH, for as early as on July 29, the global body had made it clear that if the convenient power-sharing agreement between HI and the IHF engineered by Sports Minister Ajay Maken was not terminated, India risked losing both the Champions Trophy and the Olympic Qualifiers, also scheduled for New Delhi, next February.
The FIH had frowned upon the ‘working relationship’ forged until the end of December 2012, expressing its surprise and disappointment at what it had called ‘a temporary fix’, and made it amply clear that it would take away India’s hosting rights if the situation remained the same.
The announcement came as a surprise to no one but the indifferent hockey officialdom, which perceived the FIH warning as an empty threat but cried hoarse when its bluff was called. But what drove FIH president Leandro Negre to make that announcement a little over a week before he was to meet Maken to sort out contentious issues remains a mystery.
Defiant but embarrassed after his controversial Sports Bill was rejected by the Cabinet, Maken has a great chance to salvage pride and emerge with his reputation enhanced if he can convince Negre during the September 12 meeting to ensure that at least the Olympic Qualifiers stay in India.