Mischief makers force Hockey Bengaluru to change its name to Bengaluru Hockey Association

Bengaluru, November 29: A group of mischief makers have forced the Hockey Bengaluru, also known as the Karnataka State Hockey Association (KSHA), rename itself as Bengaluru Hockey Association.

The group, comprising six members of the KSHA and an outsider, established an outfit called 'Hockey Bengaluru' with the registrar of societies after learning that the KSHA was biding time to re-register itself as Hockey Bengaluru. They were squatting on the name, hoping KSHA would approach and negotiate with them for the tag.

The KSHA, one of the three governing factions for the sport in the state, had to rename itself after receiving associate membership from national body Hockey India in February 2016. It even wrote a letter to the registrar of societies saying it would shortly apply for a registration under the name Hockey Bengaluru.

Learning that the KSHA would wait a while before applying, these seven members, some of whom had lost the KSHA elections last year, approached the registar and claimed the name for themselves, thereby denying the KSHA the rebranded name of Hockey Bengaluru.

KSHA eventually found out only this year in March when they applied to the registrar for the name. They were informed that the name has been taken by a group of seven people in February 2017.

"They were some of our own members," KSHA secretary K Krishnamurthy said on Wednesday (November 29). "We were shocked when we found out that the name had already been taken. We had written to the registrar of societies on Race Course Road saying we would apply for an establishment called Hockey Bengaluru. Knowing this, they approached another registrar in Chamarajpet and got themselves recognised as Hockey Bengaluru."

The rival faction's registration caused quite a stir at the KSHA. Having hosted the 7th Hockey India Sub-Junior Men National Championship 2017 from April 24-May 21, the KSHA were to receive a grant of Rs 28 lakh from Hockey India. They, after all, spent Rs 92 lakh on hosting the event and the support from the national federation was vital in KSHA securing their finances. This grant would be released after the KSHA provided a registration certificate for the name 'Hockey Bengaluru'.

"I really don't know what was going on in their minds," Krishnamurthy said. "I suppose they had the ulterior motive of making us beg them for the name because the grant from Hockey India would go to the affiliated society named Hockey Bengaluru. They wouldn't get the grant for themselves because KSHA has the Hockey India affiliation, not them. But I guess they just wanted to mess around and cause trouble."

KSHA eventually sorted out the mess by informing Hockey India about it. The HI, it is learnt, was quite understanding of the issue. "We then rebranded ourselves as Bengaluru Hockey Association," Krishnamurty added. "We didn't have to negotiate with that group. Yes, we're now called Bengaluru Hockey Association, not Hockey Bengaluru."

As for the group, one of the seven, Philips Rajkumar, a former player for AGORC, was expelled from the KSHA at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday (November 26). All the six KSHA members were issued a show-cause notice seeking an explanation for their actions.

Five of them, including M Alexander of BEML who contested and lost to AE Venu Uthappa for the post of the KSHA president, apologised to the federation. A sixth member passed away, while the seventh member of the group was an outsider. Rajkumar can return to the association only if the executive council decides to readmit him after a year.

The KSHA's associate member status at the Hockey India temporarily brought an end to the war between it and the other major faction in the state, Hockey Karnataka. The third federation, Hockey Coorg, also enjoys associate membership status at Hockey India. The two factions were again at each other this year over the name of the stadium. The KSHA calls it the Karnataka State Hockey Association Stadium, while Hockey Karnataka and the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports rebranded it Field Marshal KM Cariappa Hockey Stadium.

The factionalism was a repercussion of the dispute between the Indian Hockey Federation and HI. All associations that were under the wing of the now-defunct IHF had to merge with HI after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the HI was the country's sole body to run hockey. The dispute was triggered after the Indian Olympic Association had suspended the IHF after a sting operation showed the federation's former secretary general, K Jothikumaran, allegedly accepting money in 2008.