Hockey India given October 9 deadline to hold elections

The election schedule will ensure India's World Cup hosting rights in January.

To avoid a ban from the International Hockey Federation (FIH), hockey’s international governing body, India has until October 9 to elect a new executive board (EB) of Hockey India (HI). The election schedule will also ensure that India retain the right to host the men's hockey World Cup. The tournament is slated to take place in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, Odisha, from January 13 to 29, 2023.

The development occurred on the same day that an FIH delegation met with India's hockey governing body's court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA). The FIH delegation assessed the progress in the drafting of the body's new constitution. It also reiterated the request for elections to be held as soon as possible.

FIH asks Hockey India to draft its constitution within 10 days

It was also decided that HI will deliver the final draft of its constitution to the FIH within 10 days. The meeting was attended by FIH acting president Seif Ahmed and CEO Thierry Weil. It also consisted of CoA members former Supreme Court judge Anil R Dave, former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi and Olympian Zafar Iqbal.

The delegation met with Sujata Chaturvedi, the Secretary of Sports, on Tuesday. "The CoA addressed the FIH's two primary concerns. As directed by the Delhi High Court, the first draft of Hockey India's revised constitution was submitted to the FIH and the CoA today. Hockey India will receive the final draft within the next 10 days. It was also agreed that the Hockey India election process would end on October 9, 2022," the FIH and CoA said in a joint statement.

Reports suggest that the visiting FIH delegation was vehemently opposed to the CoA members' proposed 20-week time-frame for holding elections under the new constitution. FIH officials shared this information with the sports ministry and CoA during their meetings with them. The CoA agreed to the October 9 deadline for elections as a result of the international body's tough stance.

Response to Delhi High Court's ruling

In response to the Delhi High Court's ruling that Narinder Batra's appointment as CEO was invalid, the FIH acting president said, "We do not view the court as a third party and hold the judiciary in the highest regard. Court orders, we believe, do not constitute interference."