New Delhi: Frowning upon the “compromise settlement” reached between warring Hockey India (HI) and Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) without its knowledge, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said it is withdrawing all international tournaments allotted to the country until the matter is resolved.
The FIH said it wants the issue to be sorted out as quickly as possible so that hockey is not affected in India.
Delhi was scheduled to host the Champions Trophy in December and Olympic qualifiers for men and women in February next year.
An HI official said it is for the sports ministry to sort out the matter and it can be done only after sports minister Ajay Maken returns from abroad.
“We have received an official communication from the FIH. They have made it very clear that they will recognise only federation. We have to wait and see how the issue can be resolved,” said Rajeev Mehta, associate vice president of HI.
HI secretary general Narinder Batra is also out of the country.
The FIH said the agreement HI and the IHF entered into earlier this week is not in compliance with the Olympic Charter and the FIH Statutes.
FIH president Leandro Negre has written to the sports minister, calling for an urgent meeting, involving the presidents of HI and the Indian Olympic Association, to discuss the FIH’s concerns and the ramifications of the current proposal for India’s role in world hockey.
“In the meantime, the FIH executive board has decided that it is neither possible nor appropriate to continue with the discussions with HI to host tournaments in India over the next four-year cycle, particularly the FIH Men’s Champions Trophy (December 2011), and the FIH Men’s & Women’s Olympic qualifying tournaments (February 2012). The FIH greatly regrets this decision but feels that it is left with no alternative in the circumstances.”
“The FIH has expressed its grave concern to the Indian sports minister about the ‘settlement’ recently announced between Hockey India (HI) and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), without prior consultation with the FIH,” the FIH said in a statement.
The FIH said the agreement was not acceptable to it. “This compromise fails to resolve the fundamental underlying issues that have blighted Indian hockey for so long,” the FIH said. (IANS)