ISLAMABAD:The International Hockey Federation (FIH) and the Committee of Administrators (CoA), Hockey India have decided to complete the process of elections for Hockey India by October 9.
A joint meeting between FIH and CoA was attended by Acting President FIH, Seif Ahmed, CEO FIH, Thierry Weil and the members of CoA, Justice Anil R. Dave, former Judge of the Supreme Court, Dr. S.Y. Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner of India and Zafar Iqbal, Padmashree awardee and former Olympian and captain of the Indian Hockey team, said a press release.
The two major points put forward by the FIH were addressed by CoA. The first draft of the modified constitution of Hockey India, as directed by Delhi High Court, has been submitted to FIH and CoA would deliver a final draft within the next ten days. Additionally, the process of elections for Hockey India was mutually decided to be completed by October 9.
Speaking on the occasion and in context of the Delhi High Court Order with respect to Hockey India, Seif Ahmed, acting president FIH said, “We don’t consider the court as a third party and respect the judiciary. We believe that the order of a court is not an interference.”
Anil R. Dave, member CoA said, “We are thankful for this visit by FIH delegation. We have been able to conclude and agree on some important next steps to ensure the continued smooth functioning of Hockey in India keeping in mind the foremost importance of the spirit of the sport and best interest of our athletes.”
R. Vineel Krishna, Commissioner-Cum-Secretary, Sports & Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha also met the FIH delegation and made a presentation on the progress of the upcoming FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar – Rourkela. It was agreed upon to conduct a site visit to Rourkela on September 7 by FIH members and CoA. This visit would be followed by the official draw for Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 to be announced from Bhubaneswar on September 8.
The CoA and FIH members expressed their collective appreciation towards the state government of Odisha and were looking forward to an exceptional global event taking place from January 13 to 29, 2023 in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.