Man With a Mission

“MY AIM IS TO EXPAND HOCKEY and that can be in Asia, Europe, Africa or Oceania. Marketing the sport and extending its reach are the lines that I am focussing on. This is what I would like to do for the next four years,” says Narinder Batra, the new FIH president, in a chat with UTHRA GANESAN.

- Uthra Ganesan

It is over three months since Narinder Batra took charge as the president of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) — the first ever Indian to head the international body of an Olympic sport. Since then, the former Hockey India president has been raking up the air miles and criss-crossing the world as he sets out to make the FIH a profitable organisation and expand the sport further.

On the occasion of the first ever Hockey Stars event to give away the annual FIH player awards, Batra spoke to Sportstar about his experience so far, the way forward for the apex body of the sport and his refusal to return to national administration.

EXCERPTS:

Question: You have been the president of the FIH for the last three months. How has your experience been?

Answer:To be honest, I don’t see any change in my working. It’s just moving from one office to another, that’s the only change. The hockey in India is the same as world over. But yes, you get involved in different continents, different cultures, different ways of thinking and that is something I have to get used to and understand it and respect it all. But the overall experience has been good, really good.

Have you worked out how you would balance the world interests of FIH with Indian hockey’s interests?