Saturday 27 / April / 2024
Dubai: India's Narinder Batra became the first non-European President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) after he was elected to the top post by an overwhelming margin during the penultimate day of the 45th FIH Congress, here on Saturday.
Batra, who is the president of Hockey India, defeated David Balbirnie of Ireland and Australia's Ken Read to become the 12th FIH President -- the first Asian to grab the post in the world body's 92-year-old history.
Batra got 68 votes in his favour while Balbirnie and Read managed 29 and 13 votes respectively. Out of 118 voters, only 110 voted while eight abstained.
The voting was conducted via secret ballot through an electronic voting system. Each delegation head of a National Association was provided with a tablet and a unique password by which they voted for their choice.
It has been learnt that Batra, who was the official candidate of Asian Hockey Federation, enjoyed majority support from Asian, African and Central American nations during the voting process.
Outgoing President Leandro Negre, with whom Batra shares a very cordial relationship, announced the result of the poll.
Batra's four-year tenure begins immediately, which means he will have to relinquish Hockey India President's post with immediate effect.
He also is the first Indian to be elected as chief of an Olympic Sport's international governing body.
Batra's win means the power centre of the sport will now move to Asia from Europe, which had been ruling international hockey for decades.
The 59-year old Batra, who became president of Hockey India in October 2014 after serving as its secretary, succeeds Spaniard Leandro Negre, who has been the FIH chief since 2008.
Other Europeans to have headed the FIH in the past were Rene Frank, Etienne Glichitch, Juan Antonio Calzado, Els van Breda Vriesman besides Negre.
As President, Batra will be tasked with leading the sport through the next phase of the FIH's 10-year Hockey Revolution strategy. A key part of this will be the delivery of the new Event Portfolio which begins in 2019.
Across the globe
"Reach and revenue" has been Batra's agenda going into the polls and he vowed to take the game across the globe.
"I feel extremely honoured and I look forward to lead the FIH global hockey revolution," he said addressing the media after his victory.
"My commitment is to hockey because I love the sport. I want to take hockey across the globe because now-a-days everything is calculated by reach and revenue. My priority will be to widen the base and extend geographical boundaries."
"To achieve that we can't restrict hockey to just 10-12 nations. Hockey has to spread, hockey has to grow across the globe," Batra said.
Besides taking the game to newer audiences, the new FIH chief also plans to make the game popular in economically rich countries.
"While China, India and USA drive the world's economy, we also need to accept that these are potential markets for sports and it's important to make the sport popular in these key markets," Batra said.
"It is my firm belief that this innovation will lead to better commerce for hockey."
A firm believer of FIH's Hockey Revolution programme, Batra also knows the importance of digital media in making a game popular.
"We must also need to engage with a younger audience via various digital platforms. It is something which will take smart and strategic planning, and I look forward to the challenge," he said.
"We need to ensure that we strike a right balance between the use of digital platforms for promotional purposes and television for reach and revenue growth," the 59-year-old said.
"If we want to create a hockey revolution, we first need to think about our players and give them nothing but the best. They are the custodians of our future," he added.
Indo-Pak ties
Batra, meanwhile, said the two nations will have to honour their international commitments.
The tension at the border has cast a shadow over Pakistan's participation in the next month's FIH Junior World Cup in Lucknow but Batra's comments make it clear that the two neighbours are set to clash against each other on Indian soil.
"There is no doubt that there are political tensions between India and Pakistan and no one can ignore that. But in international competitions both India and Pakistan will have to play each other anywhere," Batra said.
Batra said both India and Pakistan hockey federations have setlled their differences which had cropped up following Pakistani players wild and indecent celebrations after victory over India in the 2014 Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar.
"Delegates of India and Pakistan hockey federations have met here yesterday on the sidelines of the FIH Congress and all old issues between the two federations have been sorted," he said.
Hoping for the resumption of Indo-Pak hockey ties, the FIH chief said: "Any India-Pakistan encounter is always of high intensity and attracts great viewership which in turns translates into revenue."
