New Delhi: With just two days to start, the fate of the lucrative World Series Hockey(WSH) still hangs in the fate with International Hockey Federation(FIH) President Leandro Negre saying that it can only sanction WSH only when Indian Hockey Federation and Hockey India solve their differences and reach a solution.
Negre who was interacting with media a day after India qualified for the Olympics gave a one month ultimatum to Hockey India(HI) and Indian Hockey Federation(IHF) to resolve their issue and reach a solution.
"We are acting as a mediator between Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation. We are listening to both the sides and trying to find a solution. We tried our best to reach an agreement and had a discussion with both parties," said Negre.
"We were very close to reaching a solution but there are very small disputes which need to be sorted out. So, we have given both the parties one month's time to come together," he said.
By saying so he emphasized on the point that both these warring bodies reach an agreement WSH would still stand as a non sanctioned event. He also said that the event should be conducted by HI and not IHF as they are not the recognized body.
And talking about the national players participating in the league, Negre said that the players are free to play in the league but could face sanctions if both these body do not reach any agreement.
However it has been learnt that that none of the Indian players currently in the squad are interested in playing in the league as they do not want to face complications when it comes to play for the national side.
Meanwhile, Narendra Batra, general secretary of Hockey India snubbed all reports of any possible merger which is been floating in the news and denied any possible merger between the bodies.
Samikshan Dutta Choudhury
Indian Sports News