Olympians demand IHF overhaul

NEW DELHI: A host of Olympians and hockey lovers on Wednesday took to the streets to protest against the "unprofessional" ways of the Indian Hockey Federation and called for immediate steps to reinvigorate the country's national game.

The hockey greats, holding aloft placards which read 'Gill and Jothi are you not ashamed', and 'Government dissolve IHF', were joined by hundreds of fans in the procession.

They also submitted a memorandum to Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar and Indian Olympic Association chief Suresh Kalmadi demanding dissolution of IHF and formation of an ad hoc committee of professionals till the formation of a new body.

Inquiry into the financial dealings of the Federation and taking measures to help the national team qualify for the 2008 Olympics were also demanded.

The protests were prompted by the Indian team's string of disastrous performances of late culminating in the dismal fifth place showing in the recent Doha Asian Games.

The former players alleged that during the rule of IHF President KPS Gill and Secretary K Jothikumaran, the performance of the national team had slipped immensely, grass-root level hockey was being ignored and transparency was not being maintained in financial dealings.

Famed players of yesteryears like Major Nandy Singh, Col. Balbir Singh, Raghubir Lal, Haripal Kaushik, Harbinder Singh, HJS Chimni, R S Bhola, Ashok Kumar, Zafar Iqbal, Sukhbir Girebal, Pargat Singh, Arvind Chhabra and Abdul Aziz participated in the procession.