Inde, le début du renouveau ?

New Delhi, April 28 : The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Monday dissolved the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and in its place appointed a five-member ad hoc committee to run hockey in the country. Long-standing IHF chief K.P.S. Gill was sacked. Announcing the decisions here, IOA chief Suresh Kalmadi said the decision was unanimous and it was taken in the interest of Indian hockey though it was “painful” to remove K.P.S. Gill.

Kalmadi has been authorised to name the members of the ad hoc committee.

The emergency meeting of the IOA also named a five-member national selection committee headed by Aslam Sher Khan, a former MP. Ashok Kumar, Ajitpal Singh, Zafar Iqbal and Dhanraj Pillay will be the other selectors.

It was also decided to appoint Australian Ric Charlesworth as adviser to the ad hoc committee.

IOA sacks K P S Gill, dissolves IHF

New Delhi, April 28 : The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in a bold move Monday dissolved the Indian Hockey Federation, sacked its President K P S Gill and took over the reins of the game.

IOA, at its emergency Executive Committee meeting in which Gill was also present, decided to form a five-member ad-hoc committee to run the sport and named a five-member selection committee of Olympians.

Aslam Sher Khan is the Chairman of the selection committee. Ashok Kumar, Ajitpal Singh, Zafar Iqbal and Dhanraj Pillay are the other members. Australian Ric Charlesworth will be the technical adviser to the selection committee.

IOA had called the emergency meeting after IHF secretary Jothi Kumaran was caught in bribery scandal in a sting operation, but it was turned into stocktaking of Indian hockey. At the end of it all, it was unanimously resolved to suspend the IHF.

“The Executive Committee has passed the resolution to suspend the IHF. IOA president has been given the authority to select a five-member ad-hoc committee to run the sport,” IOA President Suresh Kalmadi told a chaotic press conference.

“The decision has been taken as per an IOA constitutional clause which says that any federation can be suspended for undesirable activities and for bringing disrepute to the sport,? he said

Asked whether it was only the sting operation that prompted the decision, Kalmadi said that was a contributing factor.

“The issue was very complex. Media as well as a number of parliamentarians reacted strongly to the sting operationand the issue of good governance was also involved. The International Hockey Federation had warned that it would take away the 2010 World Cup if the IHF did not improve its functioning. Everyone wanted IOA to intervene and it had to after considering various issues and taking all shades of opinion.

“Every international event is important for us in the run up to the New Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games and we couldn’t have let the World Cup go.”

Kalmadi said he would discuss with former Olympians and other stakeholders before deciding on the ad-hoc committee.

Asked how long would the IHF stands dissolved, Kalmadi said: “Till it is necessary and hockey gets back on track.”

The three-member inquiry committee formed by the IHF to look into the matter also stands dissolved.

“Two member of that inquiry committee had written to me that they did not want to be part of the inquiry and resigned,” said Kalmadi.

Fmr Olympian glad over IHF suspension

Bhopal, Apr 29: Expressing happiness over the decision to suspend the Indian Hockey Federation, former Olympian Jalaluddin Rizvi today hoped that the condition and direction of the national game would improve.

”The step kindled hope that the IHF will now return to players’ hands. A lot of effort will be required to restore hockey to its former glory. K P S Gill’s roughly one-and-a-half-decade-old tenure as IHF president reduced the game to a state where the national team could not qualify for the Olympics,” he told UNI here.

Pointing out that industrialists’ cooperation was imperative, Rizvi added that children’s attachment for the sport would have to be created.

”Hockey’s pride can be restored with the guidance of former players and adoptng a professional attitude,” local Hockey Academy Coach Ashok Dhyanchand told UNI.