Here at the ESPN daily blog, we bring you all the news from the dynamic world of Indian sports: a one-stop shop for everything to do with the wide variety of Olympic sports and franchise leagues.
February has plenty of prominent events taking place – which you can find listed out in ESPN India’s sporting calendar.
Here are the key events from Tuesday, February 27.
Elena Norman resigns as Hockey India CEO
Elena Norman, the long-serving CEO of Hockey India, resigned from her post after holding the position for nearly 13 years and overseeing Indian hockey’s resurgence in the last decade.
Norman’s resignation comes days after Janneke Schopman, the chief coach of the Indian women’s hockey team, also resigned after saying that she had faced gender discrimination from the national federation.
While Hockey India’s official statement did not give the exact reason for her departure, she later confirmed to PTI that it was due to unpaid dues and factionalism in the federation.
“There were some issues (regarding salary) and after much persuasion, that got cleared last week,” Norman told PTI. “There are two factions in Hockey India. There is a (President) Dilip Tirkey and I and there is (Secretary) Bholanath Singh, (Executive Director) Cdr. R K Srivastava and (Treasurer) Sekar J Manoharan,” she said.
“It was getting tough to deliver in the fight between two factions,” she added.
HI credited her with the rise and historic achievements of the teams in the last few years and for bringing women’s hockey in the limelight. “…providing them equal facilities as the Men’s Hockey Team including cash awards recognising standout performances in International events through the Hockey India Annual Awards. She was particularly instrumental in the success of the women’s team that qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics, a historic feat as the team qualified for the first time and participated in the Olympics after 36 years,” said the release.
HI president and former India captain Dilip Tirkey, while accepting Norman’s resignation, expressed his gratitude towards the Australian.
“Not only as the President of Hockey India but also as a former player and avid hockey enthusiast, I want to formally acknowledge and extend my sincere gratitude for her remarkable contributions over the last 12-13 years,” Tirkey said in the statement.
What’s on today?
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Football: The Indian women’s team takes on Kosovo in the Turkish Women’s Cup in Alanya, Turkey.
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ISL: Hyderabad FC host Punjab FC
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PVL: Kolkata Thunderbolts face Kochi Blue Spikers
What happened yesterday?
You can check all the details of yesterday’s news events here