Thaindian News

New Delhi, Sep 6 (IANS) The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) called the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) decision to shift the men’s Champion’s Trophy out of India “unfortunate and uncalled for” and hoped the world organisation will reconsider its decision.

Due to an unending power struggle between Hockey India and the Indian Hockey Federation, the FIH Tuesday announced that the 2011 men’s Champions Trophy will be shifted to another country.

“The decision is most unfortunate and uncalled for, and we hope that FIH will rescind it and hold the tournament in New Delhi as per schedule,” IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra said in a statement.

With no immediate solution in sight, the Olympic qualification tournament scheduled to be held in Delhi in February 2012 is also in jeopardy unless the two hockey bodies merge to present a unified structure that the FIH has been insisting on.

Several attempts to merge the two units have failed with neither willing to concede authority and power. The FIH said it will continue to monitor the developments and decide on the future of several international tournaments that have been allotted to India.

Malhotra said the FIH’s decision could do incalculable harm to the game in India.

“Hockey is India’s national game and a huge number of hockey fans are keenly awaiting to watch Champions Trophy at the Dhyan Chand Stadium,” he said.

Malhotra held Sports Minister Ajay Maken responsible for this development.

“I don’t know what is his real agenda, but he has landed the country in another unnecessary controversy. Thank God, the so-called sports development bill got scuttled, otherwise India would have faced problem from the IOC and its participation in London Olympics and all other international competitions, including Asian Games & Commonwealth Games would have been jeopardised,” he said.

Malhotra, the acting chief of the IOA in the absence of president Suresh Kalmadi who is jailed for allegd irregularities inthe Commonwealth Games preparations, said the FIH decision is first warning signal and that Maken should refrain from dabbling in sports federations.

“I had assured FIH chief Leandro Negre that the IOA is strongly against any government intervention in the sports bodies and it does not recognise the so-called arrangement worked out by the sports ministry between Hockey India (HI) and Indian Hockey Federation (IHF). Their decision has puzzled us,” he said.

Malhotra said he is willing to speak to Negre to make IOA position clear.

“FIH should like talk to IOA, which represent the IOC in the country.”