Picture Credit: Twitter
Former India captain Dilip Tirkey has been elected as the president of Hockey India on Friday. He was one of the top contenders for the job as the Hockey India elections were scheduled to be held on October 1. But the results were declared early as there were no other candidates for any of the posts.
Tirkey was elected after Uttar Pradesh Hockey chief Rakesh Katyal and Hockey Jharkhand's Bhola Nath Singh withdrew their nominations on Friday. Whereas Bhola Nath has been elected unopposed as secretary general. This appointment was approved by International Hockey Federation (FIH).
In a letter, the FIH addressed that when the number of candidates for any post is equal to or less than the number of posts, they shall be directly elected unopposed as per election by-laws on the Hockey India website. The letter said, "Therefore, we are pleased to observe that the Executive Board of Hockey India stands elected as has been put on the website of Hockey India and that the posts election was unanimous for all posts."
The FIH also praised the efforts of the three-member Committee of Administrators (CoA), which included Justice Anil R Dave, SY Quraishi and Zafar Iqbal, for conducting the election process smoothly.
"We are delighted that the election process has been completed and a democratic body is now in place. We extend our congratulations to Dr Dilip Tirkey, Bhola Nath Singh and Sekar J Manoharan and look forward to working with them closely," it added.
Tirkey took to Twitter as he thanked the CoA and FIH and expressed that he will work towards the upliftment of Indian hockey. "I will ensure that Indian hockey reaches to new heights," he tweeted.
Thanks @DrSYQuraishi & @FIH_Hockey for conducting smooth elections of @TheHockeyIndia. I will ensure that Indian hockey reaches to new heights.@CMO_Odisha @Media_SAI @IndiaSports pic.twitter.com/romj3xJQwR
— Dilip Kumar Tirkey (@DilipTirkey) September 23, 2022
Bhola Nath also opened up about withdrawing his nomination for the president's post for a great player like Tirkey to take the leadership position. "I withdrew after due consultation with Dilip Tirkey. He is a legend and we have decided to work jointly for the good of Indian hockey. Our aim is to see India win the Olympic gold again," Bhola Nath told PTI.