VHA administrator gives ground to amateur body

Hockey and controversy go hand in hand. Vidarbha Hockey Association's administrator TN Sidha's double standard came to the fore when he allowed an amateur body Vidarbha Hockey Players Association (VHPA) to conduct their activities at VHA ground, off Amravati road while not giving permission to Nagpur District Unified Hockey Association (NDUHA) recognised by Hockey Maharashtra.

NDUHA officials have expressed surprise over the decision of Sidhra who has been appointed administrator by the charity commissioner to conduct the hockey activities smoothly in the district. They alleged favouritism from him while allotting the ground.

NDUHA got the recognition from Hockey Maharashtra a few months back and they are planning to hold various activities right from school and college level to clubs. They wrote a letter (in possession of Lokmat Times) to Sidhra asking for permission to hold all hockey activities at VHA ground. In the letter the Association said Hockey Maharashtra Pune had authorised them to manage hockey activities for men and women in Nagpur district. However, NDUHA doesn't have its own ground so it is facing difficulties. So far NDUHA has not received any reply from Sidhra who is now based in Punjab.

NDUHA joint secretary Pramod Jain told Lokmat Times, “The main role of VHA administrator is to see how the hockey activities are conducted in a smooth manner but this is not happening. We have contacted him a number of times but he is not even taking our calls. Recently we sent him a letter but he has not responded positively,” he said.

Jain also said, “VHPA is not an organisation but just a group of former hockey players. Still they have been regularly conducting activities at VHA ground. Why not us? We are the recognised body and our tournaments hold significance as the players are being selected from it for state and national-level tournaments. We have nothing against VHPA but at the same time the importance should be given to recognised body also. ” Lokmat Times tried to contact TN Sidhra several times but he didn't take the calls.