With the final of next year’s hockey World Cup clashing with Indian Premier League’s third edition, Hockey India President AK Mattoo hinted at deferring the date of the summit clash.
“There is a possibility that the final could be shifted to some other date,” Mattoo said.
“In fact, I recently had a meeting with the FIH representatives, event manager and all the persons concerned and we explored various options during the meeting,” he said.
Next year’s hockey World Cup was originally scheduled to be held in the capital from March 7 to 20, but last week, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) was forced to prepone the event by a week (February 28-March 13) to avoid a clash with the IPL third season slated for March 12-April 25.
However, it seems the initial date adjustments were not enough as the World Cup organisers are now contemplating of deferring the final of the mega event scheduled for March 13 as there is an IPL double header on the very day.
Mattoo also reiterated that the much-awaited elections of Hockey India would be conducted before the World Cup, a mandatory clause put forth by the FIH before the host nation, failing which India would be barred from participating in the event.
