Mumbai to host zonal under-17 hockey nationals

After getting affiliated as an associate member of Hockey India, Mumbai Hockey Association have been allotted the west zone sub junior (u-17) nationals for boys and girls to be held at the Mahindra Stadium here from April 11-16.
Announcing this here today, MHA secretary Ram Singh Rathor said the decision to join the ranks of Hockey India, after being associated with the rival Indian Hockey Federation, was taken so that Mumbai players do not lose out on national and international recognition.
"We sought and got the associate membership of Hockey India to give a chance to our players to play for India. Our players were earlier losing out on this chance," said Rathor.

He added that MHA's managing committee took this important decision without asking for the consent of its 1,000-odd members as its constitution was silent on it.
"As you all know we did not seek disaffiliation from IHF. They disaffiliated us," said Rathor, while conceding that IHF had stripped MHA of its membership after it got affiliated with HI too as a non-voting member.
But Rathor also said that as per the guidelines of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) that one state should have only one hockey body, there was little likelihood of MHA getting full membership of HI as Maharashtra Hockey from the state was HI's affiliated full member.

"We don't want voting rights but only wanted our boys not to suffer," said MHA's veteran administrator Chokhani.
MHA have also roped in two former India captains Anil Aldrin and Viren Rasquinha on its seven-member advisory body which has five other internationals - Darryl D'Souza, Davinder Kumar, Girish Pimple, Cornelis D'Costa and Edgar Mascarenhas - on its panel.