Dubai: Indian hockey, which is looking up after impressive recent performances at the Asian and International Hockey Federation (FIH) organised tournaments, may play a prominent role in the administration of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) too.
The 45th FIH Congress, which is being held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dubai, will be electing the new president of the FIH on November 12. Indian Hockey Federation’s (IHF) chief Dr Narinder Batra is contesting the president’s post along with Ireland’s David Balbirnie and Australia’s Ken Read as his opponents. The three candidates have been officially nominated by their national associations for the role of FIH president.
Over 300 delegates — representing over 80 affiliated countries — are here and discussions on the promotion of hockey and its future are in full swing.
Indian hockey has been buoyed by their men’s and women’s teams’ recent triumphs in the Asian Champions Trophy and ever-improving performance in International Hockey Federation tournaments.
Speaking to Gulf News, Batra, who is delighted with the rise of Indian hockey in recent years, said: “The progress of Indian hockey has been a continuous process since 2009 when the new body took charge and the results are now showing up. The way it is going on I think it is just a matter of time before we add more confidence. In the FIH tournaments we have always been in the top four and in the Asian events we are always in the top two. It is good to see the rise and in two to four years our women’s hockey team will also be a force to reckon.”
Batra who managed to swell the earnings of Indian hockey, added: “When I took over in 2009 and our new body came in, the total revenue coming to hockey at that time was only $500,000 (Dh1.8 million). In 2016 we closed at $16 million-plus and that means interest in hockey in India has gone up. Star TV, who is the broadcast-partner, has broadcast to about 130 countries. So our hockey graph is going up.”
The Hockey India League, which has given a big boost to the popularity of hockey in India, is the brainchild of Batra and the event is approaching its fifth season.
Batra said: “It is very important to have heroes in hockey like in the past. We welcome any support from other sportsmen to encourage hockey too because when a cricketer like Sachin Tendulkar tweets there are two millions people who read it.”
The FIH congress is being staged here in collaboration with Dubai Sports Council and supported by the UAE Hockey Federation and facilitated by Falcon and Associates.
Raza Abidi, the administrator of the UAE Hockey Federation (UHF), revealed that the FIH congress being held here is a big boost to the region. “Plans are on to set up a hockey centre in Jumeirah with international standard facilities and it should get a big boost after the election of the new FIH president and executive body,” Abidi said.
