At last KPS Gill has been ousted from the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) after a 14-year-long despotic reign that ended in disgrace after the failure of Indian team to qualify for Olympics and the bribery scandal.Gill had been given the chance to put in his papers and leave the organisation. But despite the popular mood against him, the stubborn supercop remained unmoved. The game has suffered enormously during the last 14 years.
The allegations of corruption were confirmed when a sting operation revealed IHF secretary accepting cash in lieu of promising berth to a player in the national team. This created an outrage across the country but Gill failed to gauge the anger.
On Monday, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) took the much-awaited step and removed Gill and replacing the body with a five member ad-hoc committee comprising former hockey greats.
They include Olympians like Aslam Sher Khan, Ashok Kumar (the son of hockey legend Dhyan Chand), Ajit Pal Singh, Zafar Iqbal and Dhanraj Pillay. None of them needs any introduction and their dedication to the sport is known to everybody.
Former Australian hockey team captain Rick Charlesworth will the be the advisor. One hopes that hockey players will be in a better position to understand the problems afflicting our national sport and restore the place of Indian hockey in the international arena.
