CHENNAI: When the men’s team departed for World League Semifinal last month, there was little wrong with Indian hockey. One of the most improved sides in the last three years, there were even talks of a podium finish. They finished sixth but that was dismissed as a one-off.
As the core men’s group returned to the SAI centre on Thursday for the beginning of another national camp, significant off-field developments have almost threatened to overshadow their poor performance in London.
A review is supposed to take place in the near future but given the confusion, when that will happen is anybody’s guess.
To throw another spanner in the works, their world could further come crashing down if Hockey India League (HIL) doesn’t happen next year. It’s reliably learnt that Hockey India (HI), who are yet to formally announce the country’s withdrawal from the Pro League, are having a meeting on July 26 to decide what to do with HIL.
“Hockey India is meeting on July 26 and we will decide whether HIL will go ahead in 2018 after that,” a source in the know told Express. “Our wish is that we want it to happen in 2018, like every other year.”
The issue was started by noted Australian commentator Ashley Morrison, who claimed that HIL will not take place in 2018. When he wrote it on July 3, it did not seem right. Because, if anything, HIL had just announced expansion plans with a new team coming in 2018. “A new HIL team will come on board since 2018 in Bengaluru,” the league chairman Narinder Batra had informed the press in November 2016.
But chinese whispers have a tendency of growing like forest fires. A few teams – Delhi Waveriders especially – have had financial difficulties, while another owner is looking to exit the league altogether.
What makes the case even more complex is the alleged communication between HI and FIH in the last week of June.
In a letter, HI apparently told FIH “we will not be able to stage HIL in 2018”.
An HIL source who had access to the letter confirmed its contents. “You can confidently say there will be no league in 2018. That’s what the letter says. But my understanding is that HIL will be back in 2019 and this hiatus is just for a year.” Both FIH and HI have since said no such letter exists.
What happens to the league in 2018? Will it directly take on Pro League in 2019? What happens to the Indian and international players who are contracted to play in it? Answers to a few of these questions are expected on July 26.
swaroop@newindianexpress.com