There once existed a sport called hockey,played on grass with a ball and a stick. The aim was to flick the ball into a guarded net. It was labelled the national sport of India,although the Constitution doesnt have any mention of it,because we had the most talented players who could do just that. It won us eight Olympic golds and,till 2004,and to some extent even now,is the only sport associated with Indians at the quadrennial event.
Back in the 1990s,there was just one man taking decisions about hockey K.P.S. Gill. Players were supposed to keep their sticks to the ground and their mouths tightly shut. The rest of India would remember the sport with desperate hope every four years,during the aforementioned quadrennial event. Those were the days of innocence.
That age of innocence ended on Monday,with a truce between the games two warring factions. It was a moment of glory for those who dragged the sport from the open grounds to the courtrooms,where it now survives. But,first,an attempt to explain the beginning of the end.
In 2008,for the first time ever,the Indian team failed to qualify for the Olympics. A month later,the secretary of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) was caught on camera accepting a bribe to influence team selections. In May,the IHF was suspended by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the sports ministry,and hockey came under an ad-hoc committee.
In the summer of 2009,this ad-hoc committee was given a name Hockey India (HI) and was made the sole body in charge of administering the sport by both the IOA and the ministry,with the condition that it would hold elections within six months. The IHF and its womens counterpart were disaffiliated and derecognised under pressure from the international federation (FIH). There were intimations of trouble when most state associations protested and filed cases against the manner in which the HI was formed.
In May 2010,the Delhi high court ruled as illegal the suspension and derecognition of the IHF and forced the sports ministry to accept its existence. In August,the HI finally held its elections only to be stripped of its official status by the ministry a few hours later.
In the meantime,the IHF and its womens counterpart got together to elect a single body and take over administrative rights. But even that was not accepted by the ministry. Incidentally,that is exactly the status that exists even now,legally. The high court judgment,meanwhile,has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
Oh,and yes,there has been something called the World Series Hockey (WSH). Empowered by the high court judgment,the IHF entered into a deal with Nimbus Communications to hold the WSH a 45-day league along the lines of the IPL with top stars in the world and money to the tune of Rs 125 crore. The WSH has got the hockey world excited. They are keen to come to India,but theres a hurdle: since it will be organised by the IHF,which is not recognised by the international federation,players could face sanctions from the FIH and national associations.
If the profusion of acronyms,twists and turns mentioned above is confusing,they are just symptomatic of the state of Indian hockey. In the middle of this mess,the FIH would raise its voice at regular intervals,about recognising only Hockey India. That has also been the card brandished by the HI to claim legitimacy.
What happened on Monday was a last-ditch attempt by the sports ministry to bring about a temporary truce as well as save its face. For the haste with which it agreed to get rid of the IHF and Gill in particular,was a major factor that led to the present mess. The kind of money the WSH is talking about is another crucial factor.
The two parties IHF,which legally has the right to run the sport,and HI,which claims international recognition have now agreed to form a joint committee to take decisions regarding the national team and international competitions till 2012. However,they remain separate entities,and even the ongoing legal battles against each other will continue.
Not many believe this marriage of convenience will last. Even the protagonists admit it may barely survive till the Olympics qualifiers in Delhi next February.
The first signs of strain are already there players who attended a WSH event have been issued notices. Who knows,most players,thanks to the bad administration they have been saddled with and the bleak future ahead,may opt for the WSH instead of national duty. The paucity of players is such that even if two dozen players decide to join the WSH,there will be no national team.
But Indian hockey is nothing if not hopeful. There are those who still expect a happily-ever-after. Thanks to them,there is still a sport called hockey,the national sport of India.
uthra.ganesan@expressindia.com
