Poll-pourri

While India’s senior national hockey team have a busy calendar ahead, on the domestic front the game is feeling the heat as the Delhi High Court has asked the ad-hoc committee to hold elections or else the jinxed 63rd men’s senior national championship would remain a non-starter.

The high court, in a hearing on February 6, has said that the ad hoc committee — formed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) — should put things in order and present a concrete plan to conduct the elections before March 2.

“We are making the moves as per orders but the nationals will have to be postponed as the election process will take more than a month,” confirmed Mohammad Aslam Khan, the convenor of the ad-hoc committee while talking to DNA.

“We have to abide by the court ruling and the elections will have to held, and we are approaching the state associations,” assured Khan, who is also the vice president of the IOA.

One of the IOA officials stated that in the hearing held on February 6, the court has ruled out the men’s nationals unless the elections are held. The nationals were to be held in Pune from March 2-15.

“We had sent the budget proposal and had approached all the states and institutions and we did get a positive reply, but with the Delhi high court’s verdict everything is stalled,” said Ikram Khan, the 63rd senior national organising secretary, here in Pune.
A 21-day notice has to be sent to all the associations and filing of the nominations and the rest will take more than a month, added Ikram.