HI and IHF to meet with IOA on Oct 14: Maken

Faced with the prospect of India's hockey team being ousted from the race to Olympics, the Sports Ministry has called a meeting of the IOA, Hockey India and the Indian Hockey Federation on October 14 to resolve the dispute related to the game's governance in the country.

Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Wednesday said that the two warring fractions -- HI and IHF --along with the IOA will be holding a meeting to reach a common understanding, failing which the ministry will intervene and try to resolve the matter.

"IOA, HI and IHF will be holding a meeting on October 14 to resolve the issue of governance of the game in the country but if nothing comes out of it then we will try to resolve the issue," he said.

Maken, however, praised the IOA's decision to call an urgent meeting on Tuesday following FIH's threat to shift the Olympic qualifiers from the country, which might jeopardize the national team's chances of making it to the London Olympics.

The meeting called by IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra was attended by IHF representatives KPS Gill, Ashok Mathur and Amrit Bose, and HI's secretary general Narinder Batra. But no solution was found.

"I welcome IOA's intervention and initiative in trying to resolve the dispute between the two warring fractions. But if they fail again on October 14, the Ministry will take up the matter," warned Maken.

In its letter to the Sports Ministry, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) had warned that India's participation in next year's London Olympics may be jeopardised, if IOC charter and FIH statutes were not adhered to while resolving the issues related to the governance of the game in the country.

The FIH has already shifted the Champions Trophy from India and it will now be held in New Zealand.

The FIH letter, signed by president Leandro Negre, mentioned seven issues, including the payment India owes to FIH with regard to hosting of the 2010 World Cup. It said that all lawsuits relating to the governance of hockey "must be finally resolved and terminated."

Meanwhile, when asked to react on 20 cases registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the irregularities in last year's Commonwealth Games, Maken said, "We have said earlier also and I am again saying that the guilty will not be spared."