The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : Gill wants HI to merge with IHF

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Gill wants HI to merge with IHF

NEW DELHI: The last has not been heard yet on the merger of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and Hockey India (HI).

On Friday, IHF's Chief Adviser K.P.S. Gill accused the other party of having “concealed facts” and misled people on many fronts. In effect, he made it clear that the IHF was not inclined to accept certain names from the other side, the most objectionable being the current HI secretary Narinder Kumar Batra.

“The choice is his,” responded Batra. “In the interest of hockey, if people say I am wrong I'll leave. I am not above the game. But Gill has a personal grudge against me,” he said.

The Union Sports Ministry has been engaged in a determined effort to bring the two warring factions together. HI and the IHF had recently acknowledged the efforts of the government and both parties had pledged to bury their differences and work for the betterment of the game.

However, Gill's tirade against HI and the Sports Ministry on Friday seemed to have given a new twist to the process of merger. It does not look as smooth as the ministry projected it to be.

The two factions were stuck at what could be the name of the new body with HI and IHF adamant that their interests should be protected.

Sources in the Sports Ministry said the merger process was on the right track with the new body set to have a new name. — Special Correspondent

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