Hockey India affiliates 21 state units

Chennai: A total of 21 RPT 21 of the 33 erstwhile units of Indian Hockey Association has been

recognised by the Hockey India, which is scheduled to hold its elections next month as per the requirements of Union Sports Ministry and the International Hockey Federation. According to minutes of a November 30 meeting of the apex body signed and circulated by A.K. Matoo, President of Hockey India, to State Olympic Associations, affiliation to 12 units were approved without any issues and seven states are approved subject to state Olympic Associations` scrutiny of proper representation for women and other related issues. Both Bengal and Gujarat were extended affiliation based on documents furnished. Karnataka?s application and relevant documents were found in order but affiliation would be granted after receipt of letter from Karnataka Olympic Association, said the minutes, a copy of which is with PTI. The Minutes state that application from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Punjab and Goa have been received but kept pending due to issues. Due to legal tangles, the affiliation issues of Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan have been kept pending, while Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Puducherry have not yet applied. As per the Minutes, the last date for receipt of applications for affiliation was December 15 and decisions on applications received after this would be taken by the body to be elected on January 27 next. The minutes copy signed by all the 15 attendees also states that a five-member committee (Vidya Stokes, Narinder Batra, Mohd Mushtaque Ahmed, Rajeev Mehta and Amrit Bose) had been set up to resolve relevant issues within the next ten working days. Units affiliated are: Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Chandigarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh., Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Andaman and Nicobar, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Orissa, Uttrakhand, Andhra, Kerala, Manipur, Mizoram, Gujarat and Bengal. Following members attended the Nov 30 meeting held in New Delhi. Hockey India members: A.K.Matto (President), Vidya Stokes (Sr.Vice President), Narinder Batra (Treasurer), Mohd.Musteque Ahmed and Rajeev Mehta (members of HI), Jagbir Singh (Director, Planning), R.K.Shetty, Victor Ellis, Ikram Khan, K.Krishnamurthy, Gurbux Singh, Amrit Bose and Charanjit Raheka (invitees) and Lalit Kumar Bhanot (IOA representative). PTI