What’s the story?
Hockey India has filed an official complaint with the sport’s official governing body (FIH) over the issue of match-fixing in the Indian team’s first match against Pakistan at the recently-concluded World Hockey League Semifinals.
According to a report by Sportstar Live, the letter reads, “Everyone is aware that cases of match-fixing in cricket have taken place in England concerning Pakistan matches...now if this plague has decided to spread its way into hockey by adopting a route of bogus criminal complaint and making teams play with less number of players or tired players...then it is a serious issue.”
ANI also confirmed the news with a series of tweets.
In case you didn’t know
India faced off against Pakistan in their pool stage encounter at the Hockey World League semifinals in London. The match ended 7-1 in favour of the Men in Blue, their largest margin of victory against their arch rivals.
The heart of the matter
Controversy had struck prior to the match after India’s star midfielder Sardar Singh was summoned by the police to Leeds right in the middle of the tournament and just one day before the match against Pakistan on charges of sexual assault. The HI stated in the letter that this was an attempt at swaying Sardar’s performance and also affecting the result of the match.
At the time of the incident, Narinder Batra, the President of the FIH had also published angry comments on social media regarding the Sardar Singh-situation. His post said, “I would love to see the reaction of England and world media if in India the England players are called to police stations.”
He further requested the Indian media and the Indian High Commission to look into the matter before accusing the Pakistani-origin Members of Parliament of being involved in this whole matter. However, these comments were later deleted and the FIH was forced to apologise.
What’s next?
It remains to be seen how the FIH will respond to the HI’s message and whether any investigation will be undertaken or not.
Author’s take
It is certainly surprising to see claims of match-fixing being made. Here’s hoping the matter is resolved as quickly as possible.
Related: Indian hockey star SV Sunil plays through pain against Pakistan
