Kandasamy Jothikumaran is not a man given to being in the spotlight. For 14 long years, the former clerk with Canara Bank has run the Indian Hockey Federation, growing from strength to strength, without ever taking centrestage. He has been the power centre, pulling the strings, oiling the machinery, controlling the stakes in the national sport, all in the shadow of a man whose reputation precedes him — IHF president KPS Gill.Not that Gill himself has been above blame. But for most in the know, the IHF has, all this while, been ‘a Jothikumaran show’. What this latest expose has done, therefore, is put him in a position he dislikes the most. When Jothikumaran was elected as IHF secretary in June 1994, along with Gill, there were hopes that the change in administration would help improve the condition of Indian hockey. What happened, instead, was the gradual concentration of power in the hands of one person, and everyone else falling by the wayside.Consider this:•During the 1998 Commonwealth Games, the last icon in the sport, Dhanraj Pillay, was rebuked by Jothikumaran for missing chances, in full view of everyone.•Cedric D’Souza was sacked as India coach midway through the 2002 World Cup, reportedly at the behest of Jothikumaran.•There is unanimity — and Dhanraj is on record — that the only reason someone like Adam Sinclair played the 2004 Olympics only because of Jothikumaran.For someone whose only link to the sport is having played college hockey for some time, Jothikumaran has gained a lot from the game. His elevation was considered a victory for the southern lobby in the IHF, traditionally dominated by those from the north. But even a quick glance at the list of players who have donned India colours since then reveals that, if anything, representation from the south has steadily declined.Proximity to GillMeanwhile, Jothikumaran’s profile kept rising. His was the last word; he could get not just players, but even coaches appointed according to his choice. It couldn’t have hurt that elections to the IHF were postponed several times and the executive committee hardly ever met. And his proximity to Gill protected him. In fact, conspiracy theorists are already hinting at his fall-out with Gill in recent times — especially since Joaquim Carvalho’s appointment as chief coach, which was opposed by Jothikumaran — may well be the reason behind this latest sting. Not that he never did any good. Australian Ric Charlesworth’s appointment as technical consultant is considered, to a large extent, because of Jothikumaran. And while his spats with Dhanraj are old news, there have been times when he came to the star’s rescue, especially when he was most needed by the team.Interestingly, while Jothikumaran could — and did — get any player into the squad, he has been exposed in the name of a player who is already a member of the junior India squad and considered extremely talented. As for being selected for the Sultan Azlan Shah event, it had already been decided to send a junior squad to the meet, in order to groom future talent, and the player concerned had made the cut long back.
