Sports Ministry watches Hockey India after Mandaviya meets Tirkey and HIL franchises

Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya met Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey and Hockey India League franchises here on Monday, after the World Cup, to discuss the continuation of the league, and the Sports Ministry said it is keeping a close watch on the federation’s internal disputes and is prepared to intervene if necessary.

Mandaviya also held meetings with Hockey India officials, including secretary-general Bholanath Singh, and with both the men's and women's chief coaches and captains, sources said. The ministry told those present it preferred the federation resolve its problems internally but would not hesitate to step in if the situation deteriorated, because it did not want the sport or players to suffer. Monday saw another round of contention between the two camps within Hockey India, according to the same sources.

Bholanath Singh called for an emergency meeting of the Executive Board on September 18, saying it was convened on the advice of Tirkey. Tirkey denied having given such direction and asserted that only the president has the authority to call an Executive Board meeting. “Also be informed, I am very clear in my direction to you in my earlier communications unless the DG (Srivastava) submits his explanation, no EB meeting will be held,” he wrote, asking Bholanath to refrain from disobeying orders.

Sources said Mandaviya was keen for Hockey India officials to sort out their differences without outside interference but made clear the ministry would step in if matters worsened. They expressed confidence that the dispute could be resolved soon, saying: “It’s not an issue that can’t be resolved, it is the ministry’s responsibility to fix things. We had problems in football also but now things are ok there, we hope it will work out similarly for both HI and the HIL,” they insisted.

An Executive Board meeting scheduled for September 18 remains contested between the secretary-general and the president, and the Sports Ministry has signalled it will intervene if the federation fails to reach a resolution that prevents harm to the sport or to players.