Hockey India power tussle intensifies, Tirkey protests October 6 board meeting

Indian hockey teams may be writing success stories in Japan, but the struggles within Hockey India show no sign of abating as general secretary Bhola Nath Singh convened the 120th meeting of the executive committee for October 6, prompting president Dilip Tirkey to object that it was convened without his prior approval or consultation.

The meeting will be held at the Hockey India office here and will deal with matters related to the Hockey Association of Orissa (HAO) elections and the status of its affiliates, among others.

Notice is hereby given that the 120th Executive Committee hockey India meet will be held on October 6, 2026 at 12:00 PM at the Hockey India office in New Delhi, said an email from Bhola Nath, who is in Japan.

Tirkey, who has already lodged a police complaint against some of the HI officials, raised concerns about the manner in which the meeting was convened.

“I do not give my consent to the proposed 120th meeting of the Executive Council in its current form and strongly object to its convening without the requisite consultation and prior approval of the President,” Tirkey told PTI.

“The 119th meeting of the Executive Council, convened as an Extraordinary Meeting on September 18, was convened by the General Secretary without my prior consent or consultation. At that time, I specifically sought certain concurrences and responses from the Director General (RK Srivastava) on clearly communicated matters.

“Unfortunately, those directions and problems remain unresolved. Moreover, I was not at the said meeting,” he added.

Tirkey is currently locked in a war with Bhola Nath over administrative decisions and meeting minutes.

The agenda for the October 6 meeting includes consideration of the Electoral Officer’s report on the Hockey Association of Orissa (HAO) Annual General Meeting and the election of its Executive Committee, comments on the composition and status of its affiliates and consideration of further action, if necessary.

Questioning the priority given to the HAO elections at the Hockey India executive board level, Tirkey said several other “urgent and substantial matters” concerning the federation required immediate attention.

“While state association elections are important for the respective associations, I don’t understand why the Odisha Hockey Association elections were given such priority at the level of the Hockey India executive board,” the former India captain said.

“It concerns several urgent and fundamental matters Hockey India which require immediate attention of the executive board and which in my opinion have a direct bearing on the interests and functioning of Hockey India.

“Despite these pressing issues, they were not accorded equal priority while the Odisha Hockey Association elections were placed high on the agenda,” he added.

The police complaint filed by Tirkey is also on the agenda of the meeting.

“To discuss the complaint which he said was lodged by Dr Dilip Tirkey, President of Hockey India as per media/social media reports,” the email from the general secretary said.

“Last week, Tirkey filed a complaint with the Delhi Police against some HI officials, accusing them of ‘criminal breach of trust, theft, endangering life and wrongful abandonment’.”

Last month, Tirkey relieved Srivastava of his powers and responsibilities with immediate effect on eight charges. He was given four weeks to respond to the show cause notice.

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