Former Olympian and Asian Games medalist Dilip Tirkey was elected as the president of Hockey India on Friday.
One of the most decorated hockey players in India, Dilip’s name was proposed by V. Sunil Kumar of Kerala Hockey and second by Arun Kumar Sarswat of Rajasthan.
The former Indian captain was elected unopposed for the post after Rakesh Katyal and Bhola Nath Singh withdrew their nomination for the top post.
Tirkey took to Twitter to express his gratitude to everyone who was involved in conducting the HI elections. “Thanks, Dr SY Quraishi & FIH for conducting smooth elections of The Hockey India. I will ensure that Indian hockey reaches new heights,” he wrote on Twitter.
Bhola Nath was elected unopposed as secretary general while Sekar J Manoharan of Tamil Nadu Hockey was elected as the treasurer.
The Hockey India elections were scheduled for October 1st but with no competition for any of the posts after the final list was prepared by the Returning Officer Ajay Nayak on Friday 23rd, all the nominees were elected to their respective post uncontested.
FIH, the global governing body of the sport, also ratified the appointment of Tirkey and others. In a letter, FIH while thanking the CoA for their contribution to Indian hockey made it clear that their mandate has come to an end and the international body would not communicate directly with the newly elected committee.
“We are delighted that the election process is now completed and a democratically elected body is now in place. We extend our congratulations to Dr. Dilip Tirkey, Mr. Bhola Nath Singh and Mr. Sekar J Manoharan and look forward to work with them closely,” FIH in a letter to CoA wrote.
“With effect from today, 23 September 2022, we note that CoA has concluded its mandate, and the FIH will now communicate directly with the newly elected Executive Board for matters pertaining to Hockey in India,” the letter further said.
Hockey India – Office Bearers
President – Dilip Tirkey (Hockey Association of Odisha); Vice-president (female) – Asima Ali (Hockey Jammu & Kashmir); Vice-president (male) – S.V.S. Subramanya (Hockey Karnataka); Secretary-General – Bhola Nath Singh (Hockey Jharkhand); Treasurer – Sekar J Manoharan (Hockey Tamil Nadu); Joint secretary (female) – Arti Singh (Hockey Rajasthan); Joint secretary (male) – Sunil Malik (Hockey Haryana).
Executive Board Members: Arun Kumar Saraswat (Hockey Rajasthan); Asrita Lakra (Hockey Jharkhand); Gurpreet Kaur (Hockey Delhi); V Sunil Kumar (Kerala Hockey); Tapan Kumar Das (Assam Hockey).