New FIH boss Narinder Batra: My only regret is my failure to start a women’s HIL

11/16/2016

FIH is to introduce a 10-year hockey revolution strategy starting in 2019, newly-elected international hockey president Narinder Batra has said while regretting not starting a women’s Hockey India League (HIL) during his tenure as Hockey India (HI) boss.

“There is one game I am passionate about is hockey. I want to contribute to the game and make it more popular and bigger," Batra told a news conference in New Delhi.

"As part of the plan, the FIH will introduce a 10-year hockey revolution programme from 2019. The programme's aim is to ensure the next generation takes up the sport. Its overall aim is to make hockey more popular and reachable.

“From 2019 we will have hockey being played throughout the year. We will start a new league which is very important in the context of FIH. It will be a home-and-away league which will witness participation from nine countries.

"The league will be a qualifier for Olympics and World Cup. Top two teams of the league will qualify for Olympics and the World Cup. The league will be organised over six months and will be held on Saturdays and Sundays.”

Batra, 59, is the first non-European president of the world hockey body.

"My role in FIH will be to increase geographical boundaries of the sport. I want to expand hockey in Africa, Pan America, Oceania and Asia. I want to increase the number of international teams from 10-12 to 20-25,” he said.

"If you can increase your boundaries, revenue will automatically increase.”

His election to the FIH top post last Saturday means that he would have to step down as HI boss.

“My only regret is my failure to start a women’s HIL,” he said of his tenure as Hockey India chief.