Politics in sport has taken hockey to an abysmal low: SC

The Supreme Court has slammed the condition of Indian sport, saying that sportspersons and not businessmen should head sports bodies in the country. Particularly criticising the state of hockey in India, the Supreme Court said that it was a matter of concern that the one-time powerhouse was now struggling on the international stage. [caption id=“attachment_1268769” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The Supreme Court said that politics in the sport has taken hockey to an abysmal low. Reuters[/caption] India’s hockey team, which has won the Olympic gold eight times — finished last (12th) at the London Olympics and finished in eighth place at the World Cup in 2010 — winning just one match out of six. The Supreme Court said that politics in the sport has taken hockey to an abysmal low — mentioning how they once used to win gold medals and now struggle to qualify. The interference of politics in hockey has resulted in two bodies — the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and Hockey India (HI) fighting for power while the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is also at loggerheads with the International Olympics Committee (IOC) over the new sports code.