Amid widening factional tensions inside Hockey India, a group of former players has stepped forward in support of president Dilip Tirkey, while simultaneously demanding a sweeping overhaul in the way the federation is run. The intervention by some of the sport's most recognisable former internationals has added a new layer of pressure to a governance crisis that has been building for weeks and now threatens to overshadow the administration of Indian hockey.
On Friday, members of the group gathered at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi to stage a protest, though they were not allowed by authorities to voice their dissent inside the venue. Instead, they stood outside Gate No. 7 holding placards, turning the symbolic heart of Indian hockey into the latest stage for a public confrontation over the sport's leadership. Among those associated with the group are celebrated former India players Zafar Iqbal, V. Baskaran and Ashok Kumar, though the trio could not attend the protest in person. Olympians Vineet Kumar and Romeo James, both members of India's 1984 Los Angeles Olympic team, were among those present and visible in the demonstration.
The protest is the latest sign that the conflict inside Hockey India has moved beyond routine administrative disagreement and into a broader battle over authority, accountability and control. The immediate flashpoint came on September 12, when Director General Cdr. R.K. Srivastava was stripped of all powers and asked to explain repeated instances of non-compliance with Tirkey's directives. Srivastava had travelled to the recent World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium despite Tirkey having instructed him not to do so, an act that deepened the perception of open defiance within the federation's top ranks.
The discord intensified further a few days later when Srivastava accompanied secretary general Bhola Nath Singh to Chandigarh for the formal announcement of the men's Asian Champions Trophy, even as Tirkey was in New Delhi meeting Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. That sequence of events underscored the extent of the split in the governing body, with parallel centres of activity and competing signals emerging from within the same organisation. The situation escalated again when Bhola Nath called an emergent Executive Board meeting on September 18 without Tirkey's sanction, a move that further sharpened the internal divide.
For the former players who gathered on Friday, the issue is not merely one of personalities but of institutional credibility. Their central demand is the creation of an ad-hoc committee to take charge of Hockey India until the next elections. The proposed interim body, they say, should include former players, a retired judge or legal luminary, and an observer from the sports ministry or the Sports Authority of India. The idea, they argue, is to restore trust in the federation's processes and prevent further deterioration in governance.
Former India women's team captain Asunta Lakra was also part of the protest, bringing added weight to the group's concerns. Lakra had earlier accused Bhola Nath of intimidating her with consequences after she raised objections to the alleged harassment of young girls in Jharkhand, a charge that has widened the controversy beyond administrative wrangling and into questions of player safety and institutional response. Her presence at the protest signalled that the dissenting voices are not limited to governance reform alone, but also include concerns over how complaints and allegations are handled within the sport's ecosystem.
Pramod Batlaw, a member of India's silver-winning team at the 1978 Asian Games, said the federation needed to be cleaned up urgently. "There are people in HI who don't know anything about the sport. They want to send Tirkey out and take all the powers," he told The Hindu. His remarks captured the frustration among former players who believe that hockey's administration has become detached from the needs of the game and the people who have represented it at the highest level.
The public backing for Tirkey from former players, combined with their call for reform, reflects a complicated but telling moment for Indian hockey. Rather than aligning neatly behind one camp or another, the protest suggests a broader demand for legitimacy, transparency and a reset in governance. With the federation already under strain from internal rivalries, the pressure now appears to be shifting toward a resolution that can command confidence from players, administrators and the sporting establishment alike.