The International Hockey Federation (FIH) yesterday assured Hockey India that there is no danger to the World Cup scheduled here from Feb 28 to March 13 because of the deferred election to the national body.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) yesterday assured Hockey India that there is no danger to the World Cup scheduled here from Feb 28 to March 13 because of the deferred election to the national body.
HI secretary-general Narendra Batra told reporters that FIH made it clear that the controversy over the HI election will not cast any shadow over the World Cup.
The HI election, scheduled for February 7, was put off for the third time on Saturday following a stay order from the Rajasthan High Court over the affiliation granted to the state unit on January 11.u00a0
It is now unlikely that an elected national body will be in office before the World Cup, as mandated by the FIH.u00a0 Batra said he spoke to FIH chief Leandro Negre who said the World Cup in India is safe.
"I have spoken to FIH chief Negre and he has assured me that there is no danger to the World Cup because of the deferred election," Batra said.u00a0 "There are some court cases but we hope we will be able to get an elected body in place before the World Cup."
The FIH had repeatedly said an elected HI is a must before the World Cup, but with the mega event barely a month away, it is unlikely to happen unless the court cases are sorted out.
Meanwhile, HI accused the union sports ministry of functioning as the sports ministry of Punjab for insisting that the state hockey unit be affiliated even if its documents are not complete.
Batra said: "The sports ministry wanted HI to grant affiliation to Punjab even without the formalities being completed and put undue pressure on our officials not to insist on Punjab filing all the required documents," said Batra.
Reacting to Union Sports Minister M S Gill's statement on Sunday that the HI election was not fair and transparent, a furious Batra asked that how could it be fair when the state unit wanted affiliation without proper documentation and it was getting the sports ministry's backing.
Hockey Punjab's affiliation was delayed because it did not include the women's team of officials and a clarification was sought for the omission. Batra said one of the reasons for former HI president Ashok Kumar Mattoo putting in his papers is the humiliation he had to undergo from the ministry officials.
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