Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 27 (IANS) Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) president R.K. Shetty wants the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), as a “big brother”, to “contribute” in bringing his faction and Hockey India (HI) together to form the proposed joint working committee.

The IOA Tuesday rejected the “administrative arrangement” the IHF and HI entered into as a prelude to their eventual merger.

“IOA as the big brother should facilitate the merger process,” Shetty told IANS.

Shetty said he had expected the IOA to bring the two parties together after the Delhi High Court lifted the suspension of the IHF.

“I expected the IOA to call both IHF and HI and work out a possible way forward,” Shetty said.

“They can still do a lot. The arrangement we have reached is for the sake of hockey. We have come together with a positive mindset. If you say that this arrangement will not work out, there is no guarantee that even the agreement to merge would work.”

“It is important that we find the comfort level and develop an understanding and hope it works out.”

IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra Tuesday said the arrangement worked out at the behest of the sports ministry is an “exercise in confusion and futility”.

He said the IOA will never accept two federations for one discipline in the country.

“We don’t want to open a Pandora’s box which will lead to a total chaos in Indian sports,” Malhotra said.

“IOA will recognise one federation for one game, and unless a unified body is formed to run hockey, it will not be acceptable.”

The IOA suspended the IHF in 2008, but the Delhi High Court quashed the suspension last year, leading to the revival of the federation.