Hockey India Dismisses 'divisions Within Organisation' Claims Made By Janneke Schopman And Elena Norman

CEO Elena Norman: Hockey India on Wednesday dismissed the allegations levelled by former women's team coach Janneke Schopman and departing CEO Elena Norman.

Schopman and Norman had earlier reportedly stated that there is a "discord within the organisation".

To this, the national federation released a joint statement by HI president Dilip Tirkey and secretary general Bhola Nath Singh, denying the claims.

"Hockey India is an autonomous and professional body dedicated to the development of Indian Hockey. Our primary objective as an organisation has been and continues to remain the welfare and progress of the sport of Hockey and our athletes.

"Recently there have been statements by outgoing officials published in the media, claiming that there are divisions within the organisation. This is not correct. We remain united in working together, and as always in the best interest of the sport," the statement read.

"The Federation has treated the teams and all players equally with equal benefits and training facilities, including cash awards and monetary recognition that is at-par and is purely based on performance. We have built our ethos around equity and equal opportunities right from the grassroots levels across states as well as on a national level," it added.

Schopman has caused a sensation by making claims of bias and lack of support from the national body. Just over a month following her women's team's failure to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games, Schopman stepped down from her position as the head coach of the Indian women’s hockey team.

Soon after, Norman, Hockey India’s long-serving CEO Norman also tendered her resignation.