Karachi, Feb. 7 : Pakistan has announced its 18-man squad for the Hockey World Cup, which is scheduled to begin in New Delhi on February 28.

The selectors have tried to blend in a perfect mix of youth and experience in the team for the coveted tournament in which Pakistan shares the group with countries like India and Australia.

Coach Shahid Ali Khan expressed confidence in the team, saying it would give other teams of the group a run for their money in the tournament, which would conclude on March 13.

Forward player Rajpal Singh has been reappointed as skipper of Indian hockey team for the upcoming 12-nation Hockey World Cup starting from 28th February.

The five members Indian selection committee including Ajitpal Singh, Zafar Iqbal, BP Govinda, Madhu Yadav and Sita Mehta, declared Rajpal as captain while the Indian coach Jose Brasa was in favor of making Prabhjot Singh as skipper of Indian team.

A senior team player admitted that they were expecting that a senior player like Arjun Halappa, Prabhjot Singh will be named skipper of team but they are surprised by this decision of Hockey India (HI) as Rajpal has not yet any World Cup outing.

The government observer for Hockey India (HI) elections has asked HI to make public a list of all authorised representatives of all affiliated units and boards by Friday. These representatives will vote at the February 7 elections, and the list was to be issued on Thursday as per the election schedule, released on January 13. In a letter to HI interim president Vidya Stokes, SK Mendiratta has asked HI to ensure that the authorised representatives, who will comprise the Electoral College for the election, are office-bearers of the affiliated units. Each state can nominate one male and one female representative for the elections.

Hockey Goa dissolved

Indian hockey is again in news but for wrong reasons. It is now the turn of Hockey India President A. K. Mattoo to quit the post with all other administrative posts he was occupying in other sports bodies including the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Organizing Committee of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Expressing shock over series of events in Hockey India in the past few days, Mattoo added, "I have resigned from all positions. Hockey has been maligned in the past few days."

He submitted his resignation to the Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi citing personal reasons.

Just when Hockey India (HI) has warded off one crisis, another looms large for the body, which goes to polls on Feb. 7. HI’s affiliation process and the alleged interference of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and its affiliates in the process has come under scrutiny with some groups taking the matter to court.

On Thursday, the Mumbai High Court admitted a petition challenging the affiliation process in Maharashtra on a one-state-one-association basis. The petition was moved by the Mumbai and Vidarbha hockey associations along with a faction of the Maharashtra Hockey Association, all of whom have been ignored.

Hockey is an invisible sport. Consider this. The Indian players revolted recently. What they wanted was match fee or reward for playing 47 matches last year, which included winning medals, cups and Test series.

If hockey is our national sport, how many of us could enjoy the dazzling skills that our players exhibited in those 47 matches? Not many.

Because, 90 per cent of the matches were played outside India without ‘live’ telecast. The seven matches hosted in India were telecast deferred. For a sport fan, therefore, hockey did not exist. He did not see hockey or his sporting heroes on the turf.

The negotiations between the administrators and the players, who are protesting for non-payment of their 2009 dues, were unsuccessful at Pune.

Following this, Wednesday saw IOA president Suresh Kalmadi rushing to have word with the players at camp with the aim of making peace between them and Hockey India.

There are chances for the crisis in the Indian hockey to get even worse; however, the 21-players are agreeing on revolting and supporting the seniors over the pay issue.

The junior team’s skipper, V Raghunath said that since the players are demanding for what is due, they are with them.

Hockey India has given another 48 hours to the players on strike to join the training camp. The camp will be suspended if no one opted to report for training and it will resume later with current or new players as reported by A.K. Mattoo, HI President.

HI had given the deadline of 24 hours yesterday, which is extended by another 48 hours on the request of the Federation of International Hockey (FIH) Vice-President Antonio von Ondarza during press conference.

New Delhi, Jan 11 : International Hockey Federation (FIH) vice president Antonio Van Ondarza Monday said the priority of the national players should be to play for the country.

Ondarza asked the agitating players to end their "boycott" of national camp because it can affect India's chances in next month's World Cup.

"It (boycott) is completely unheard of. Whatever has happened should not have happened," Ondarza told reporters here Monday.

Pune/New Delhi, Jan 11 : Hockey India (HI) has set a 24-hour deadline for the agitating players to end their boycott of the national camp or risk disciplinary action.

Top HI officials are flying down to Pune Tuesday to resolve the issue but before that they have made their stand clear to the players.

Six players including captain Rajpal Singh, after a meeting with the HI Saturday, had claimed that the issue of payment dispute has been resolved and they will end the boycott of the camp. But their teammates in Pune were not satisfied with the agreement and decided to continue with the boycott.

New Delhi, Jan 9 : Hockey India (HI) officials and six senior India players made some headway when they met here Saturday to resolve the issues arising out of non-payment of sponsorship money, match fees and bonuses, sparking a revolt in the camp in Pune.

HI president Ashok Kumar Mattoo met the players, including captain Rajpal Singh, who arrived here from Pune in the afternoon.

"We have broken the ice and things are moving in the right direction," Mattoo told reporters.

"The players have some prior commitments and after that we will meet them again and I am hopeful that the issue will be resolved," Mattoo said.

New Delhi, Jan 8 : The Hockey India (HI) elections have been postponed yet again and cannot be held on Jan 29.

The election cannot be held Jan 29 because HI is yet to complete necessary formalities and give the mandatory 21-day notice for calling the general body meeting to elect the office-bearers, government-appointed observer S. K. Mendiratta told IANS.

Mendiratta also said there are some pending "affiliation issues".

"It will not be held on Jan 29. There are some recent developments so the schedule has to be worked out again," Mendiratta said.

New Delhi, Jan 8 : The national hockey players have decided to 'boycott' the ongoing camp in Pune due to non-payment of their match fees by Hockey India (HI).

The players decided in a meeting Thursday night that they would not attend the camp until the issue is resolved. Earlier, the players in a letter had requested the HI to clear the dues.

"We had a meeting Thursday and we decided that we will boycott the camp until the matter is sorted out," India captain Rajpal Singh told IANS.

New Delhi, Jan 5 : Hockey India (HI) finds itself in another mess with players asking their national federation to pay their long pending match fees.

Indian hockey captain Rajpal Singh told IANS that the players have written a letter to HI president Ashok Kumar Mattoo in this regard.

The Indian team had recently participated in the Champions Challenge I tournament in Argentina.

Rajpal said they have never received any match fees from HI for any tournament.

New Delhi, Jan 5 : Hockey India (HI) Tuesday sought clarification from Hockey Punjab on the formation of the state body before considering its request for affiliation to the national federation.

In a leter to HP secretary Pargat Singh, HI president Ashok Kumar Mattoo said that the affilitaion committee had informed them about the objections raised over the merger process of the three units to form HP.

New Delhi, Jan 4 : Hockey India (HI) president Ashok Kumar Mattoo Monday strongly refuted charges of Hockey Punjab (HP) that the state is being deliberately denied affiliation to the national organisation.

Mattoo also said there is no threat to HI election and it will be conducted Jan 29.

"There is no conspiracy to keep any state out of the affiliation process. Our intention is not to leave anyone. We are not holding back any state from getting the affiliation. The process is on and we are looking into it," Mattoo said Monday.

New Delhi, Jan 4 : The four-nation hockey tournament to test the facilities at the renovated National Stadium before the World Cup has been cancelled. The excuse trotted out is that the international body has refused permission, but a more believable reason could be that the stadium is not yet ready for the start of the event Jan 17.

Sukhbir Singh Badal, President of Hockey Punjab (HP), came out strongly against Hockey India for refusing to recognise the state body. Badal accused Hockey India (HI) and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) of deliberately targeting major hockey playing states.

Lausanne (Switzerland), Dec 29 : India take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening fixture of the FIH Hero Honda World Cup hockey tournament to be held in New Delhi from Feb 28 to March 13, according to the match schedule announced by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) here Tuesday.

India are placed in pool B along with Pakistan, Australia, Spain, England and South Africa while pool A includes defending champions Germany, the Netherlands, Argentina, Korea, New Zealand and Canada.

Chennai, Dec 25 : One step forward, but three steps back. That was the story of Indian hockey in the year gone by.

To say that Indian hockey is currently a rudderless ship caught in a storm on the high seas is to put it mildly. Matters have become worse with wolves in sheep's clothing indulging in a coup of sorts to form Hockey India whose modus operandi, if not its very existence, is open to question.