BHA, Hockey Coorg worried

On July 1, after serving a six-month warning, Hockey India passed an important stricture that has left many associate units, some of them who have been with the sport for decades, heart-broken.

Citing Indian Olympic Association's "One State, One Unit" policy and the need to adhere to it in order to not lose out on voting rights and other privileges as a National Sports Federation (NSF), HI ordered all its associate members in the country to merge with the main body from the state for competing in future national championships.

In Karnataka's case, Bengaluru Hockey Association (BHA) and Hockey Coorg (HC) henceforth can't compete in nationals -- across all age categories -- as independent entities and will have to join forces with Hockey Karnataka in fielding a unified team from the state. BHA and HC feel this new policy from HI will act as a deterrent for the growth of the game and requested the intervention of IOA and Sports Ministry.

"We received a letter on this front in January and then itself we replied asking them to reconsider as such a move will kill the growth of the sport in the state," remarked K Krishnamurthy, secretary of BHA. "Karnataka and Bangalore have produced so many Olympians, Arjuna awardees and medal winners in major events. Karnataka is one of the states where hockey is popular and with three teams more players were able to compete in nationals. Just one team means fewer opportunities for players.

"In case of Hockey Karnataka, nearly 90 per cent of the players are from either SAI (Sports Authority of India) or DYES (Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports). We gave chances for players from other districts, who couldn't make the cut for SAI or DYES, to compete in nationals. Now we will end up reaching a stage where if you don't make it to SAI or DYES, it's pretty much the end of the road for the kids."

B Chengappa, secretary of Hockey Coorg, too rued the new policy. "Coorg has been a nursery for Indian hockey. Our district has so far produced nearly 70 India internationals. Kids here love hockey more than cricket. This policy will hit the Sub-junior and Junior categories. Competing in nationals was acting like an incentive for these young kids and now with just one team per state, many of them could be lost in the crowd. Some players mature late and they could be affected."

A respected former player, speaking on condition of anonymity, wondered why HI suddenly woke up to this clause in HI. "Take the example of cricket. Maharashtra has three teams and Gujarat has three too. But they all compete in Ranji Trophy. Why should one rob the privileges of existing members? Don't add new ones but retain the status quo of existing members. KSHA (BHA's old avatar), Mumbai Hockey Association and Vidarbha Hockey Association are the founding members of the Indian Hockey Association. This is unjust and I seriously hope HI reconsiders this decision."

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Krishnamurthy said they have no ambition of holding office in HI and only want to compete in national-level events. "When we were granted associate membership it was very clear that we won't have voting rights and we would not be acting as an impediment for the state body. We are complying with that. I request the IOA president (Narinder Batra) and Sports Minister (Kiren Rijiju) to kindly make an exception to the IOA charter and allow associate units, some of them who have been giving so much for the sport for decades, to compete in nationals."

HI president Mushtaque Ahmad defended the new policy. "There were just too many teams. We are not stopping players from competing in nationals. The deserving will make it to the respective states."