NEW DELHI, April 29: Former India players heaved a collective sigh of relief Tuesday over the sacking of the country’s controversial field hockey federation, saying it was long overdue.

“It should have happened a long time ago, but better late than never, ex-captain Gagan Ajit Singh said, echoing the feeling of many sports lovers across India.

India’s Olympic chiefs on Monday dissolved the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) that was headed by supercop Kanwar Pal Singh Gill since 1994 following a bribery scandal and failure to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.

“It is a painful, but necessary step to ensure Indian hockey gets back on track,” Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi said, adding an ad-hoc committee will be named soon to run the sport.

“We are committed to the autonomy of sports federations but we could also not keep silent over the falling standards and allegations of corruption.”

There has been no reaction from Gill, the former police officer credited with wiping out Sikh militancy in Punjab in the 1980s, who had earlier declined to resign as IHF chief.

Federal sports minister Manohar Singh Gill said the decision to dissolve the IHF was “appropriate in the given situation. In my judgement, it will be necessary to have a compact, well-chosen and efficient new administration for the IHF,” the minister added in a statement.

Ex-captain Pargat Singh said the IHF under Gill had worked like a “sick unit” which had “completely ruined our hockey. It can’t get worse than this,” he said. “Whichever team of officials takes over now is bound to be better than the previous one.”

India, eight-time Olympic gold medallists, failed to qualify for the Beijing Games for the first time since field hockey was introduced as a medal sport in 1928.

The Indians, once the masters of the sport, have not won a major tournament since taking the Asian Games gold medal in Bangkok in 1998.

Earlier this month, IHF secretary Kandaswamy Jothikumaran quit after an undercover television sting operation caught him allegedly accepting bribes to include a player in the national team.

Jothikumaran denied any corruption, saying he accepted the money to start preparing for a proposed international tournament and not for any player’s selection.

The IOA’s move to disband the IHF came after the sport’s world governing body warned India to improve their hockey standards or risk losing the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH), concerned at India’s sharp fall at the world level, also devised a promotional project for the country to stem the rot.

Kalmadi said the IHF will be suspended “for an indefinite period” and named a five-man selection committee to pick teams for international commitments.

The selection panel, comprising former star players, will be headed by Aslam Sher Khan and include ex-captains Ashok Kumar, Ajitpal Singh, Dhanraj Pillay and Zafar Iqbal.

Australian field hockey wizard Ric Charlesworth will act as an adviser to the selectors, Kalmadi said.

Former international Jagbir Singh welcomed the IOA’s move to sack Gill.

“It was long overdue and hopefully this is the beginning of a new era,”said Singh. “We need our hockey to reach the top again.”—AFP