HI elections on February 7, Punjab and Delhi affiliated

New Delhi: Putting an end to the uncertainty, under-fire Hockey India granted affiliation to its Punjab and Delhi units and fixed February 7 as the new date for its elections which has generated a lot of controversy.

HI President AK Mattoo made the announcement after ad-hoc national federation`s officials held a marathon meeting in presence of International Hockey Federation-appointed observer Antonio von Ondarza and government designated observer S K Mendiratta here to sort out the pending issues. "We have made substantial progress today. Punjab and Delhi have been given recognition. We have finalised all the procedures and February 7 has been fixed as the final date for the elections. The documentation for the election is ready for the FIH and government observer to study," Mattoo told reporters."We were forced to shift the election date because of the delay in giving the 21-day notice period. Moreover, the government observer S K Mendiratta will not be in town from February 2-6, so February 7 has been fixed as the final date for the election," he said.He also said that in today`s meeting they have analysed the directives of the Sports Ministry, which is to be followed in the election process. PTI