The Odisha government—hosts and partners of the ongoing men's Hockey World Cup—have taken serious note of the alleged incident involving Hockey India CEO Elena Norman and some Indian players a day before the crucial quarterfinal match between the hosts and the Netherlands, which India lost 1-2.
The players had entered the sponsors lounge at the Kalinga Stadium by mistake and on spotting them, Norman lost her cool and screamed at them to get out of there. The incident happened in front of several former Olympians and Arjuna awardees. It was not the Hockey India lounge.
The incident came to light after one of the eyewitnesses present in the lounge wrote about it on Facebook. It led to outrage, with questions being raised on how players are being treated by administrators. Hockey India has maintained a studied silence on the matter.
Vishal Kumar Dev, state sports secretary, confirmed the government has demanded an explanation from Hockey India about the incident. “Yes, we had a discussion. The players should not have been there. There could have been serious repercussions. But there was a way to put it. We have conveyed it to the Hockey India president [Mohammed Mushtaque Ahmad] and the CEO [Elena Norman].”
However, when international hockey federation president Batra, who is the president of the Indian Olympic Association, was asked about the alleged incident, he lost his cool, saying, “You have got this news from social media and written on it. I have a choice not to answer this question. You get your response from social media only.”
