{"id":1978,"date":"2026-09-15T08:37:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T08:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/09\/15\/hockey-india-governance-reform-hil\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T08:37:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T08:37:37","slug":"hockey-india-governance-reform-hil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/09\/15\/hockey-india-governance-reform-hil\/","title":{"rendered":"Hockey India faces governance overhaul as ministries, franchises push for league reforms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"9fece8afa224fd09e54b043d0febfb58\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- NR ATF -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8898941184964366\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"4839033563\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>New Delhi \u2013 A deepening rift within Hockey India (HI) shows no sign of abating, as the federation\u2019s president, Dilip\u202fTirkey, met with Sports Minister Mansukh\u202fMandaviya and owners of the Hockey India League (HIL) on Monday. The gathering, held in the capital, focused on the future of the league and the need to restructure its governing framework.<\/p>\n<p>During the same day, senior HI officials attended the formal launch of the men\u2019s Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) in Chandigarh. The ceremony, which featured the presence of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant\u202fMann, also saw the attendance of Cdr\u202fR.K.\u202fSrivastava \u2013 the incumbent Director General who has been instructed to relinquish authority \u2013 alongside Secretary General Bholanath\u202fSingh and chief selector R.P.\u202fSingh. President Tirkey introduced Ranjit\u202fGill, the director of Hockey India and the federation\u2019s most senior employee, as the acting director general, presenting her to the minister and other officials.<\/p>\n<h2>Government backs league, but demands structural change<\/h2>\n<p>At the New Delhi meeting, Minister Mandaviya reiterated the government\u2019s unwavering support for the continuation of the HIL, while simultaneously signalling that the current governance model was untenable. Sources close to the talks reported that the minister proposed the formation of a five\u2011member committee comprising representatives from the franchises, Hockey India and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The committee\u2019s mandate would be to devise a \u201cbest possible way forward\u201d for the league.<\/p>\n<p>One of the central points of contention revolved around the ownership structure of the HIL. Franchise owners advocated for an equity\u2011sharing model that would grant them a meaningful stake in the competition, whereas Hockey India officials pressed for a 51\u202f% share coupled with exclusive voting rights. The ministry appeared to favour a more balanced approach, encouraging an equitable distribution of equity among the stakeholders. The proposed committee has been tasked with delivering a concrete framework within a month.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to structural reforms, the ministry reportedly assured President Tirkey that its primary objective was the overall growth of hockey in India. The minister emphasized that no individual should dominate the sport and that any party unwilling to align with the broader vision could exit the arrangement.<\/p>\n<h2>Internal dissent and calls for independent oversight<\/h2>\n<p>Amid the external negotiations, former Hockey India and International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Narinder\u202fBatra publicly voiced his support for Tirkey\u2019s position in the ongoing internal power struggle. Batra suggested the creation of an independent ad\u2011hoc committee to oversee Hockey India until fresh elections could be held. He also called for an impartial review of all complaints related to the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) policy, as well as a forensic audit of the federation\u2019s major expenditures, grants, benefits and payments.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, Batra highlighted that twelve members of the Executive Board had backed Secretary General Bholanath\u202fSingh\u2019s stance regarding the proposed removal of Cdr\u202fR.K.\u202fSrivastava. He argued that this development made it essential to independently examine the basis for the board\u2019s positions and any associated financial benefits provided to individual members or units.<\/p>\n<p>Two Executive Board members \u2013 Asima\u202fAli and Sunil\u202fMalik \u2013 have also expressed solidarity with President Tirkey. Ali, in an email, described herself as \u201cupset\u201d by the opposition faced by Tirkey, noting his reputation as a distinguished player, parliamentarian and advocate for hockey development. She criticized the board\u2019s support for the Director General, whom she said had repeatedly ignored the president\u2019s directives, and condemned any behaviour that disrespected the chair\u2019s authority.<\/p>\n<h2>Asian Champions Trophy preparations and infrastructure upgrades<\/h2>\n<p>While the governance debate unfolded, Punjab\u2019s chief minister unveiled the logo for the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy, scheduled for 27\u202fOctober to 5\u202fNovember. The tournament will feature six nations \u2013 Pakistan, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, China and host India \u2013 with Oman and Bangladesh listed as reserve teams. Matches will be split between the Olympian\u202fSurjit Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar and the Olympian\u202fBalbir\u202fSingh (Senior) International Hockey Stadium in Mohali, the latter slated for an upgrade costing \u20b98.96\u202fcrore. The Jalandhar venue will receive \u20b914\u202fcrore for renovations.<\/p>\n<p>Both stadium projects are being promoted as long\u2011term investments in Punjab\u2019s sporting infrastructure. Chief Minister Mann emphasized that the upgrades are not merely temporary fixes but strategic moves to bolster the state\u2019s bid to host the 2030 Hockey World Cup. The ACT will be ticket\u2011free, with the India\u2011Pakistan clash set for 1\u202fNovember, underscoring the event\u2019s role as a showcase for regional hockey talent.<\/p>\n<p>In summary, Hockey India finds itself at a crossroads, balancing internal leadership disputes with external pressure from the government and league franchise owners to modernise its governance. The forthcoming committee, tasked with presenting a revised framework within weeks, will need to reconcile divergent views on equity distribution, voting rights and overall control of the HIL. Meanwhile, the Asian Champions Trophy serves as a parallel focal point, highlighting both the sport\u2019s growing popularity and the infrastructural commitments being made to sustain its development across the country.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India&#8217;s hockey federation is embroiled in a power struggle, with the sports ministry and league owners urging a new governance model for the Hockey India League.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[299],"tags":[2050,2048,2047,2046,2049],"class_list":["post-1978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-asian-champions-trophy","tag-governance","tag-hil","tag-hockey-india","tag-sports-ministry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}