Outgoing Hockey India CEO Elena Norman on Tuesday said the working environment in HI was “difficult” and she had no choice but to quit. After serving in the role for 13 years, Norman resigned and while HI did not reveal the specific reasons for her decision in her official statement, the Australian spoke out about what prompted her to leave. “Definitely, it became difficult to achieve results in the battle between two factions,” Norman told PTI in an interview.
“There are two factions in Hockey India. There is (President) Dilip Tirkey and me and there is (Secretary) Bholanath Singh, (Executive Director) Cdr RK Srivastava and (Treasurer) Sekar J Manoharan,” she said.
“There are guys who want power and then there is (HI president) Dilip (Tirkey) who is a nice guy, only after improving Indian hockey,” the 49-year-old explained.
What made the whole situation worse was the fact that her wages were not paid for three months.
“There were some issues (regarding my salary) and after much persuasion they were resolved last week,” Norman said.
Her resignation is the second blow to HI in recent days after coach of the Indian women's hockey team Janneke Schopman resigned, also complaining of a difficult working environment.
Schopman said she was not valued and valued by the governing body.
Norman also made similar claims and spoke of the infighting within HI, without dwelling on the issues that caused the clash of ideas. She, however, commended Tirkey for his continued support.
Sources in HI say Tirkey is finding it difficult to devote time to HI due to his political commitments with the Biju Janata Dal Party in Odisha. He is expected to contest the Lok Sabha elections later this year.
Norman, who moved to India in 2007 to work for a sports marketing company before being appointed the federation's first CEO in 2011, said she has presented her points to HI's board and is now looking forward to a break.
“I addressed my point to the board members. Dilip knows everything, but I don't want to go into details. I feel like it's my time to leave and I'm excited about new opportunities. It's just time for myself now” , she said. .
“I'm going on vacation, I'm going fishing, I'm going to hike, I'm going to spend time with my family. I've been here a long time, so I just want to relax now.
“I'll take at least three months off and then look for exciting opportunities. I honestly don't know what will happen in the future, but it's all going to be great,” she added enthusiastically.
Norman served much of her time at HI when former International Hockey Federation (FIH) head Narinder Batra was president of the national body.
During her tenure, HI hosted two consecutive editions of the FIH Men's World Cup in 2018 and 2023, two Junior Men's World Cups in 2016 and 2021 and also five editions of the now-discontinued Hockey India League (HIL).
She was at the forefront of organizing these events.
Norman also played an important role in the appointment of Dutchman Sjoerd Marijne as head coach of the women's team, which finished a historic fourth place at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Schopman was also seen as her choice.
She is also credited with appointing Australian Graham Reid as men's coach in 2019. Under Reid's tutelage, the team won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, ending a 41-year drought.
In addition, HI also organized several international hockey events during her tenure, including the Champions Trophy, World League Finals in 2015 and 2017, Olympic qualifiers in 2019 and 2024 and the home games of the Hockey Pro League.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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