FIH to Send Delegation to Assess the Current Situation of Hockey India

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has decided to send a delegation to India to assess the current situation of Hockey India (HI), especially in view of Men’s World Cup which is currently planned to take place in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela in January 2023, the sport’s world governing body said in a statement on Wednesday.

The FIH has decided to review the current situation of Hockey India following the resignation of Narinder Batra from his post.

Former Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief Narinder Batra on Monday resigned from the post of International Hockey Federation (FIH) president, thus relinquishing all three top posts — IOA chief, International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and FIH head — he was holding.

The FIH appointed Egypt’s Seif Ahmed as the acting president of the world sport body following the resignation of Batra. The FIH said that a permanent successor to Batra is due to be elected in November. The appointment of Ahmed was announced following an FIH Executive Board meeting, which officially accepted Batra’s resignation.

“The EB has decided to send an FIH delegation to India soon, in order to assess the current situation of Hockey India, especially in view of the next FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup which is currently planned to take place in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela in January 2023," FIH said.

Hockey India is currently under the rule of a Committee of Administrators (COA) on the orders of the Delhi High Court because of an alleged violation of the National Sports Code. The Delhi High Court ruling came on a petition filed by former India player Aslam Sher Khan, who had challenged Narinder Batra’s appointment as a life member of Hockey India.

The High Court held that the appointment of Batra, as its life member, and Elena Norman as CEO were illegal, and thus the administrative setup of Hockey India was erroneous or illegal.

The FIH will again review the Hockey India situation in the next meeting of the Executive Board that will take place on November 3, ahead of the FIH Congress that will be held virtually on November 4-5, 2022.

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