Remove Gill: Easier said than done

Over the years, what follows every debacle in Indian hockey is a chorus that advocates a complete revamp of the IHF.

Over the years, what follows every debacle in Indian hockey is a chorus that advocates a complete revamp of the IHF. But the fact remains that for the last 15 years president KPS Gill or secretary K Jothikumaran have hung on at the helm despite several failures on the field, upheavals within the organisation and, of course, public outcry.

Here are the reasons why ‘Sack Gill’ is easier said than done:

The setup:

The IHF has 40 affiliated units that include states, union territories and other institutional teams. Several states have more than one unit and most offer unstinted support to the present body.

Can the present body be overthrown?

There are three ways:

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•An in-house requisition can be floated from within the IHF and a Special General Meeting be called within 15 days. A move to replace the president can be initiated thus.

• Government intervention can see a change at the helm.

• The Indian Olympic Association can take over the reigns of Indian hockey. It has been done before.

But why hasn’t this happened so far? We spoke to IHF old hands and other sports officials to find an answer for all three scenarios

1. In-house coup

Affiliated members (with voting right) can pass a no confidence motion and remove the president. One-third of the members or two-thirds of the majority present in the meeting can vote against the president. But an inter-federation palace coup seems unlikely:

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• “It is very tough to get two-third members to sign a memorandum against Gill,” says Karnataka Hockey Association secretary, Kannan Krishnamoorthy.

•“Gill is a big man and is famous. People will think 10 times to go against him,” Punjab Hockey Federation secretary, Surinder Singh Sodhi

2. Government entering arena

Some say that former hockey player Aslam Sher Khan’s campaign to get the signatures of 100 MPs and present a memorandum to the Prime Minister can change things in IHF.

•“PM can put pressure on Gill to resign, which can in turn, make the affiliated members confident that Gill is not invincible,” says KHA secretary, K Krishnamoorthy

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• “Aslam Sher Khan is also a hockey player and he should know that all the solutions are within the IHF. I see no point going to the Prime Minister,” PHF secretary, SS Sodhi

3. IOA dissolves IHF

In 1975, the IOA had done it. There were two factions of the IHF and the IOA refused to recognise them. The national team went for the World Cup in Kuala Lumpur under the IOA banner, and won. But they are not eager to get into the hockey mess now. Today, IOA secretary Randhir Singh secretary avoided the question. “We will have a meeting with the IHF shortly and discuss the issue,” he said.

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