Pakistan-India hockey series on the cards as Batra retains top FIH post

ISLAMABAD: Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra (India) edged out Belgian Marc Coudron 63-61 in one of the closest-ever elections for the post of International Hockey Federation (FIH) president.

Batra was fully supported by Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) and that one vote ultimately decided the election. Batra will now retain the post of FIH president till 2024.

With his election as the FIH president for the second consecutive time, the prospects of revival of Pakistan-India bilateral hockey series have become brighter than ever before.

This correspondent who attended the post-election FIH media talk put the question to Dr Batra on the possibility of restarting of bilateral series between the two countries and he said personally he favoured the idea. “But there is more to it as the respective governments are needed to be on board. I expect that two respective federations would take up the matter in near future.”

FIH Chief Executive Officer Thierry Weil said that he would love to see both countries playing regularly against each other. “That would help hockey grow even further. I think series between the two countries would go a long way in regenerating the interest amongst fans and to improve the overall standard.”

When this correspondent said that the standard of hockey in Asia had gone down as India was the only country playing the FIH’s Pro League, Batra said: “Pakistan was also offered to play the League at the outset. But Asia is still maintaining the standard barring one odd country.”

Talking to ‘The News’ the other day, Brig (rtd) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar said that he would support Batra as he was a big supporter of the revival of Pakistan-India hockey relations.

“We would go all out in his support as he was a big advocate of revival of Pakistan-India hockey series and wants to further strengthen hockey relations between two countries,” Khokhar said.

Of the 124 votes submitted by member National Associations, Batra received 63 votes to the 61 given to Marc Coudron of Belgium.

“I would personally like to thank all of the National Associations for showing faith in me by electing me for a second term as President of FIH,” said Dr Batra, who congratulated Marc Coudron on his campaign. “I pledge my assurance to you all that I will work towards my election priorities over the next three years,” he added.

Danae Andrada Barrios and Hazel Kennedy were both re-elected to the FIH Executive Board as women members. Danae Andrada Barrios and Hazel Kennedy received 70 and 66 votes, respectively, just ahead of Inez Cooper who received 63 votes. Tayyab Ikram and Erik Cornelissen were re-elected unopposed to the FIH Executive Board as male members.

In the President’s Report to Congress, Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra detailed the efforts made by the FIH since the previous 46th FIH Congress that took place in New Delhi in 2018, referring to the launch of various new events including the FIH Hockey Pro League, FIH Nations Cup and FIH Hockey5s World Cup as well as the approval of the eight-year global hockey calendar.

In his report, FIH Chief Executive Officer Thierry Weil highlighted the 225 courses organised by the FIH Academy over the past year.

Additionally, the State of the Game survey revealed that global participation had risen from 29.6 million to 30.1 million, with growth being achieved in ParaHockey / Hockey ID, where participation has doubled.

Thierry Weil stated that the FIH Hockey Pro League was on its way to fulfilling its mission to promote hockey worldwide despite the Covid-19 challenges. Hockey5s will mark itself as a wonderful “entry gate” to the sport that will serve to complement — not replace — the 11-a-side and indoor formats, Thierry Weil added.

The FIH Financial Report was also submitted to Congress and subsequently approved. The significant investment made into the launch of the FIH Hockey Pro League resulted in a loss of 1.5 million CHF for the 2019 edition, with 2020 breaking even. Due to signed contracts in place, both the 2021 and 2022 editions of the FIH Hockey Pro League are set to achieve profitability. Signed contracts for the next Women’s and Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup events in 2022 (Women – Spain & The Netherlands) and 2023 (Men - India) are set to generate around 7 million CHF in profit for FIH.

The Congress approved applications for membership from three National Associations, with Timor Leste Hockey Federation, Hockey Association of Gambia and Saudi Arabian Hockey Federation being accepted after the Executive Board expressed its satisfaction that their applications met the requirements of the Statutes. Congress approval means that the number of Member Associations of the FIH has risen to 140.