New Delhi : Concerned by its project report on Indian hockey making no headway even two months after its submission, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has sought to put pressure on Indian Hockey Federation, saying it was up to them to address the concerned areas for desired results.

The FIH, which had identified 14 ``areas of concern'' in its report which was submitted in mid-November, said it could move into the next stage only when the first stage of the programme was implemented.

Bab Davidzson, the project leader appointed for studying what ails Indian hockey under the project 'Promotion Indian Hockey', had mentioned the areas of concerns in a document after a series of over 40 meetings with a variety of stakeholders, an FIH release said.

Responsibilities

The fact that the FIH chose to issue a press release is being viewed as a move to remind the IHF of its responsibilities regarding the project.

The report prepared by the Dutchman was submitted to the IHF as well as the Indian Women Hockey Federation in mid-November and included suggestions for addressing these areas of concern.

Improvements

The FIH said it was now up to these bodies to take action on the suggestions and work on the possible improvements in the sport.

``As soon as their executive boards can identify themselves with these proposals and commit themselves to allocate people and other relevant resources to assist in addressing them, the project will go into second gear immediately,'' the release said.

Strategic options would then be discussed and evaluated and would form the basis of an overall long-term plan and specific shorter term-action plans, it said.

The FIH-backed project is being pursued in cooperation with IHF, the Indian Olympic Association and the Olympic Solidarity mission. — PTI

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