Observing that hockey need not lag so much behind cricket in terms of popularity in the country, the new President of Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), V Dinesh Reddy said he would make every effort to bring back the past glory to the sport.
“We want to galvanise the hockey back to its past glory. Hockey is a national game. Of course cricket will continue to be number one, but it (hockey) should not be lagging behind as much as it is happening now. We want to revive it to its past glory,” Mr Reddy told PTI in Hyderabad.
Asked to elaborate on his plans for reviving the popularity of hockey in the cricket-crazy country, Mr Reddy said young talents should be spotted in schools itself and groomed for the big stage.
“We are looking to catch the young talent in the schools itself, give them coaching and make it attractive for the players to come and play for the national hockey.
“We are also looking forward to revive competitions like Premier League Hockey and World Series Hockey,” he added.
On the ongoing tussle between IHF and Hockey India (HI), Mr Reddy, who is also the Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP), said he hoped to clear the matters during the Indian Olympic Association meeting to be held later this month.
“There are some issues, the matter is sub-judice. There are still some litigations between HI and IHF.
“This 25th there is a meeting of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which I will be attending along with two other members. We hope to sort out certain issues,” he said.
He replied in the affirmative when asked if he would be in favour of a patch-up between the HI and the IHF.
“I think we should bring all of them on the same pedestal under the IHF umbrella,” Mr Reddy said.
