New Delhi: After missing its Nov 20 deadline, Hockey India today got one last chance to clear its mess before next year's World Cup with the FIH today granting
an extension upto first week of February to complete the
election process of the body.
The HI has promised to conduct the elections in the first
week of February after a series of meetings with International
Hockey Federation Vice President Antonio von Ondarza, who is
also the FIH-appointed observer for the polls.
"We have decided to hold the elections in the first week
of February. The FIH has agreed to this. We will sort out all
the issues and have a re-look at the affiliation disputes," HI
president A K Mattoo told.
"The FIH had received some letters regarding
affiliations. We will go through the entire process and
resolve all the issues," he said.
Even as Hockey India put up a bold face of resolving all
the issues related to the much-delayed elections, it seemed
headed for a fresh internal crisis with secretary general
Mohammad Aslam resigning from the post, accusing key officials
of delaying the election process.
Mattoo said he had not yet received Aslam's resignation
letter, but would accept it once it lands in his hand. "It is unfortunate that he has resigned at such a time.
Some of the comments he has made are unfair and I am quite
upset and hurt by all these," Mattoo said.
A disgusted Aslam said he had first offered his
resignation in July this year because of the delay in HI
election process, which he feels should have been completed
after the Beijing Olympics.
"I first offered my resignation on July 24 but that time
it was not accepted. It is disgusting to work with these lot
of
people who are just interested in murky politics and not the
betterment of the game.
"My tenure ends on November 20 and I promised to hold the
elections before that, accordingly we fixed the November 18
date. But now when it is clear that the deadline won't be met
I don't want to carry on after the due date. Principally and
morally it is incorrect," Aslam told agency.
"I tried my level best to hold the elections on time but
some colleagues have delayed the process. It happened because
some people didn't take the matter seriously," he said.
HI elections were scheduled for November 18 in Srinagar.
But the Sports Ministry had asked the body to clear its mess
before going for the polls after major hockey playing states
in Punjab, Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand were
not granted recognition.
The new election date will come barely two weeks before
the World Cup, scheduled for February 28 to March 13 here.
As per the FIH directive, incase HI fails to complete the
election process on time hosts India would be barred from
taking part in the high-profile event.
Aslam lambasted the nine-member committee, headed by
Basketball Federation of India Harish Sharma, for the present
mess in the national sport and said it was their
responsibility to complete the affliation process on time.
"I was handling hockey as a subject. I was handling the
teams, trips, financial things but the onus of making these
bodies was not with me. It was in the hands of a committee
headed by Harish Sharma. Lalit Bhanot, Rajiv Mehta and Mustaq
was a part of that committee.
"This was the committee which was supposed to give
affiliations to the state bodies. All of them are non hockey
people and the process got delayed because they don't know
anything. One is from basketball and the other from athletics
and the rest two have never played any game in their life," he
said.
"I tried to talk to them. But I am a veteran sports
administrator, I was a cabinet minister, my background is
there and if they tell me to talk to some merchants in every
single matter it is against my right," Aslam said.
"You can't mix sports with a business proposition and
when you start connecting both then when the trouble starts,"
he added.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, November 13, 2009, 19:12