Adding to India’s growing stature in world hockey, National men’s team captain P.R. Sreejesh was on Wednesday appointed to the Athletes Committee of the International Hockey Federation, becoming the first Indian to do so. He is also the only currently active member on the committee.
The decision was confirmed late on Tuesday night by the FIH Executive Board and he joins the likes of recently-retired German legend Moritz Fuerste and Australian Liam de Young.
Sreejesh has been appointed following the vacancy created after former chairman, Germany’s Michael Green was elected to the FIH Executive Board in November 2016. “It’s a great honour for me to be a part of this committee along with other legends like Fuerste. It’s something special to be the first Indian to do so,” Sreejesh told The Hindu .
“This gives me more opportunities to talk to the players from across the world and in India and I will get to know more about the issues they might be facing“My attempts would be to take as many suggestions as possible to develop the game for the better and make it more popular,” he added. South African Marsha Cox and England’s Annie Panter are co-chairs of the committee at the moment. Other members include Canadian Scott Sandison, Iran’s Sanaz Heidari and Beth Smith of New Zealand.
