Ex-India skipper Tirkey favorite to become hockey federation president
Ex-India skipper Tirkey favorite to become hockey federation president: Following in the footsteps of other Indian sports like athletics, cricket, and football, the helm of Indian hockey could soon be taken by a former player.
Dilip Tirkey, one of India’s most-capped internationals and a former captain of the national team, has emerged as a leading candidate for the presidency of Hockey India.
The Hockey India elections are scheduled for October 1, and on Sunday, the 44-year-old former player and administrator filed his candidate papers.
Tirkey
Since Tirkey is already the head of the Odisha hockey association as its president, he qualified to run for president of the Indian hockey federation.
Tirkey, according to a state official, has the support of the vast majority of organizations, and no other prominent candidates have submitted nomination papers by the deadline (1 pm on Sunday). On Monday, the nominations will be made public.
Press Trust of India said that Tirkey, too, felt certain that he would win enough votes to become the federation’s new president.
A number of states and I have been in discussion. Everyone in the Northeast is on my side. Everyone in the states of Bengal, Assam, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura is on my side. In addition, I have had fruitful discussions with other states including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan. He told the news organization, “So, I am confident.”
A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court, in its ruling, stated that Hockey India must hold new elections because the positions of life president and life member were contrary to the National Sports Code.
Additionally, it stated that Hockey India’s administrative structure was “illegally created,” citing the position of the chief executive officer inside the management committee as an example.
As a result, Hockey India’s day-to-day operations are being managed by a three-person Committee of Administrators constituted by the court. Despite the federation’s best efforts, a Supreme Court bench consisting of Justices DY Chandrachud and JB Pardiwala declined to overturn the Delhi High Court’s order in August.
Instead, they asked the CoA to speed up the election process so that the 2023 Men’s World Cup could be held without a hitch.
Current trend
After a court intervention earlier this month, former player and current politician Kalyan Chaubey was elected president of the All India Football Federation.
Tirkey has entered the running for president of the hockey organization.
Hockey Maharashtra chairman Manoj Bhore, who is also a voter in the election, stated, “He has the backing of most of the members hence, in my view, he will have no trouble in becoming the next president.”
“Dilip was a great player, he captained the national team, and he continued to contribute greatly to hockey in Odisha after he retired from playing. For the sake of Indian hockey, he is the perfect leader.”
As soon as his playing career ended, the veteran defender who had played more than 400 times for India joined Biju Janta Dal and was quickly elected to the Rajya Sabha without any opposition.
He has also played a role in directing the sport in Odisha, the Indian state that has become the global hockey hub over the past eight years.
Statements
Tirkey has stated that he plans to concentrate on revitalizing the sport at the local level and in locations where it was once popular. “I want to bolster the grass-roots initiative.
As such, I plan to investigate the reasons behind hockey’s fall in the states that were once hotbeds of participation and talent production, implement solutions, and bring the sport back from the brink. According to PTI, he said, “we would visit those regions and strive for the development and promotion of hockey.”
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