INDIAN hockey is in a mess and there are enough indications of this morass getting dirtier, filthier and uglier in the coming days and months. Hockey was probably never governed/administered efficiently and in a transparent manner – at least not for the last 20 years – but the present situation has surpassed all previous records of mismanagement.
There are several high-profile claimants who want to grab the reins of the hockey administration. What is surprising is that the centre of attraction is a sports federation that has always been hand-to-mouth, so to say, and never had overflowing coffers. In early 1992, Raghunandan Prasad, the then president of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), had told me that his federation had “no money” at all. His successor KPS Gill also never claimed that IHF was a rich body. The situation has not changed since Gill’s IHF was superseded by an Indian Olympic Association-formed ad hoc committee that administered the sport till last week when the Hockey India, a unified body was created.
So the big question is: when there is no money in the federation, what has suddenly changed that so many claimants are vying desperately to grab the keys of its door? Broadly speaking, there are a few prominent reasons for the protagonists’ keenness to get the federations chair: the World Cup is going to be held in New Delhi and it will be a time when Indian officials will get an opportunity to hobnob with the top officials from around the world, including the International Hockey Federation (FIH), and indulge in networking; next year the Commonwealth Games will be held in Delhi and it will again be an occasion to make their presence felt and make the most; that will be followed by the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, in November. Of course they all like the free trips abroad that come with such positions; there are some sports officials in India who have made 200-300 overseas trips, find it difficult to walk, colour the few hairs left on their heads jet black, but are still lusting for more tours.
These are just a few probable reasons that could entice the aspirants to the hockey throne. There are many other attractions, like attending FIH meetings – again overseas. But probably the biggest reason could be that by virtue of heading a federation they get their personal work done, much like other sports federations do, in return for selections and other favours that they do, like doling out passes for important matches/tournaments.
Yes, sports administration is about this also. I still remember very distinctly I had gone to interview a Delhi cricket official many years ago. Even as we were chatting, the father of young player came with a thick file containing his bio-data/profile. Either he did not realise that I was a journalist or he simply could not care less about me. He sought selection favours for his son from the official. After the gentleman left the office, the official told me that the visitor’s father had “helped” his (official’s) father build a house! What the cricket official did not say was he was thus obliged to help his son in gratitude.
Imagine, sports officials seek, pay and repay favours for generations – and do not just stop at giving away complimentary match tickets to people who could help their business and do personal work!!
Hockey administration is no different, except that the national team is currently neither a world-beating outfit nor does it have players as glamorous as a Sachin Tendulkar, a Yuvraj Singh or a Mahendra Singh Dhoni. However, there is only template for administration/governance in India and virtually all sports federation officials use it, albeit on a scale that varies from federation to federation.
The protagonists in the race for hockey reins are from varied field. A septuagenarian retired cop, who has been at the helm of the hockey federation for uninterrupted 14 years but, amazingly, still wants to continue despite his own advancing years. Then, there’s a businessman whose company is already associated with the FIH by virtue of being one of its top sponsors.
Recently, when new FIH president Leandro Negre was in Delhi this businessman sought, and was granted, a breakfast meeting with the Spaniard. This businessman, who also heads a state hockey association, has been dangling the carrot in front of state associations for some time now.
And there is also an ambitious lady under whose reign women players have had to wash their clothes and fetch water for themselves while on national duty, prize money is either inordinately delayed or is not given at all. She, however, claims that all is well with her federation.
All in all, national hockey administration is a maze that no one can easily decipher. And in this free for all, where the battle for supremacy seems to be among the aspirants, no one knows which way the proverbial camel will eventually sit, or who will join forces with whom. Everyone is trying to justify the stand he/she has taken, but everyone is clever enough to keep the door ajar to explore any permutation and combination that might suit him/her.
While the claimants are vying vigorously for the throne, no one has expectedly included, or spelled out, any plan for players or the national teams in their agenda should they come to power.
The last word on Indian hockey is yet to be said.
