The “working relationship” between the feuding hockey factions is cosmetic, if not farcical. How long it will last triggers a guessing game.
That it had happened after a good deal of persuasion, coercion and threat by the Sports Ministry cannot be disputed. There was an element of compulsion. But a filament of satisfaction has also surfaced. It will perhaps put an end to the empty rhetoric of Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation.
The new apparatus welds the same old characters; tested and tried along with those who failed to deliver. Several are set to return as advisors, consultants and what not.
Interesting
It is interesting to wait and watch the exercise of the two units striving to frame the 39-member Joint Executive Board and an eight-member Joint Working Committee.
Will they contain a handful devoted to serve the game?
In recent years quite a few have been sidelined notwithstanding their genuine love to help.
Even those with financial clout to enhance hockey's profile were rebuffed; proven professionals like Krishnamurthy of Karnataka are kept out of the ambit for no palpable reason.
Neither the HI nor the IHF has displayed the maturity and magnanimity to rewarding committed men and women to serve in administrative positions. Here is one chance to rope in them.
The JEB appears too large to transact, or debate issues towards a consensus. Even the JWC, made up of representatives from both sides, can become conflict prone.
It will be imprudent to slip into a state of pessimism.
The efforts by the Sports Minister Ajay Maken in attempting to set right many wrongs must be seen in the right perspective.
Now the ball is in the court of the two administrative bodies for identifying members committed to the welfare of players, umpires and technical officials who really sweat it out.
For the time being, the focus is to be on preparing the teams for the Asian Champions Trophy at Ordos, the four-nation event at Perth, the FIH Champions Trophy and the Olympic qualifiers in Delhi.
The World Series of Hockey (WSH) sandwiched between the Champions Trophy and qualifier gains enormous significance in view of its magnitude, both in terms of reach and financial implications.
The united factions are mandated to agree on a common programme to help prepare the teams without a hint of hitch.
It will be a test for their sincerity and honesty.
Response
The response from the FIH and the IOA was mixed. The FIH said that it had taken note of what happened on Monday between the two factions under the supervision of the Sports Ministry and react getting a comprehensive report by the next week-end.
But V.K. Malhotra, Acting President of IOA stated that two units for controlling one sport was unacceptable.
For the FIH, it will bring some relief; its programmes in India will proceed without a major problem. It may not object to a new name.
Would it not be better to have “India” than “Bharat” as the hockey fraternity associates the sport with India since the 20s?
What impact will this “arrangement” have on State units?
Given the current disarray there is bound to be confusion. Almost every unit has two factions with legal battles alive.
Viewed on a larger canvas, the joint working formula of HI and IHF is set to create more problems than solving any.
