Els becomes FIH President after close race

By S. Thyagarajan

BRUSSELS, APRIL 23. Polarisation - if that is assumed as an assessment of the turn of events this weekend - was transparent when the Congress of the Federation Internationale de Hockey voted Els van Breda Vriesman of the Netherlands as President for the next term.

That only six votes separated Els from her opponent, Alain Danet of France, perhaps illustrates the divide at a meeting attended by members of 80 of the 112 constituents. The incumbent President, Angel Calzado, did not seek the mandate for another term.

Els triumphed 43-37 in the second round after a tie of 40-40 in the first, in what will go down in the history of the FIH as one of the most intensely-contested election.

For the 61-year-old Els, the outcome was historic in more than one sense. It was in 1994 that Els achieved something unique, becoming the first lady to take over the administration as its Secretary-General. The indefatigable Dutchwoman made history again on Saturday by becoming the first-ever lady President in hockey and perhaps in any sport at the international level.

What probably swayed the sentiments of those undecided over the choice was the emotional appeal laced with sentiments, nostalgia and introspection made by Els on the eve of the Congress. She emphasised the virtues of continuity, commitment and hard work at a reception with the delegates hosted by the Netherlands Hockey Board (KNHB).

For Asia, however, which went about campaigning for the maximum number of posts, the result was one of disappointment. Maybe, the flawed strategy of going with the dissenting group - assessed at one point of time as formidable - ended in two chief functionaries of the Asian Hockey Federation being voted out. The defeat of AHF President Azlan Shah, regarded as a father figure in the continent, in the race for the Vice-President was a blow. Tony von Ondarza of Venezuela won their contest comfortably at 46-34.

The other important figure to lose was the IHF President, K.P.S. Gill, by the narrowest of margins after a complex exercise. In the first round, Gill tied with Avtar Singh of Kenya and Korea's Shin Park Jae at 39 votes, along with Theo Ykema of Netherlands who polled only 36 in the first round. In the second round, however, Shin managed a plus two to emerge victorious.

The Executive Board has now been restructured to 21 which includes the office-bearers (5), five continental representatives, 10 elected members and a representative of the Athletes' Panel.

The preceding committee meetings dealt with various issues in their final sittings between April 16 to 20. The recommendations will either be amended or followed in toto by the new committees, the composition of which will be announced shortly.

The FIH Executive Board: President: Els van Breda Vriesmann (Netherlands); Vice-President: Tony van Ondarza (Vice-President), Pam Tye (Australia); Secretary-General: Peter Cohen (Australia); Treasurer: Robet Lycke (Belgium).

Continental Members: Seif El Dine (Egypt-Africa); M. Ueda (Japan- Asia); Leandro Negre (Spain-Europe), Ms. Rosa de Masa (Argentina- America) and Derek Wilshire (New Zealand-Oceania).

Elected Members: Women: Joke Bougon (France), Annabel Dillon (Singapore), Ingeborg Grimer (Austria), Sue Neill (Canada) and Claire Peeters-Monseu; Men: Brig. M.H. Atif (Pakistan), David Balbernie (Ireland), Wolfgang Rommel (Germany), Shin Park Jae (Korea) and Theo Ykema (Netherlands).

Athletes' Representative: Rechelle Hawkes (Australia).

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