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Aslam Sher Khan unhappy as revival of Obaidullah Cup hits roadblock
New Delhi: Former hockey player Aslam Sher Khan is baffled why the Obaidullah Cup tournament is not been given the kind of treatment it deserves since it was a 'part of Bhopal's heritage.' Khan, hero of India's World Cup win in 1975, alleged that apathy of Madhya Pradesh government officials is affecting the revival of the tournament. He informed that a committee formed under his chairmanship of Aslam sent e-mails to the state sports director and Bhopal's commissioner but did not receive any response.
'This is not just a hockey tournament but a part of Bhopal's heritage. We formed the organising committee after taking permission from Hockey India to revive it this year and it was to be held in May but despite repeated contacts, there was no response from the state government,' Khan told PTI Bhasha.
He said that the tournament was earlier scheduled to be held from April 14 but due to the repair of the Aishbagh stadium, it was decided to hold it on May 22. 'We had invited 12 teams who had confirmed their participation, including Army XI, Railway Sports Promotion Board, Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, Hockey Maharashtra, Hockey Uttar Pradesh, Hockey Jharkhand.'
The Obaidullah Cup, which shaped the careers of several international players like Ehsan Muhammad, Latifur Rehman, Akhtar Hussain, Inam-ur-Rehman, Syed Jalaluddin Rizvi and Sameer Dad, began in 1931 under the patronage of the Nawab of Bhopal State. Khan, a former Congress MP from Betul, said that this tournament has suffered due to the internal disputes between Madhya Pradesh Hockey and Bhopal Hockey Association. 'By implementing the Indian Olympic Association's one state, one unit formula, the recognition of Bhopal Hockey Association along with other organisations was revoked, although it was a founding member of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) since 1925. The headquarters of MP Hockey shifted to Jabalpur, which had no interest in the Obedulla Cup,' he alleged. Hockey India sources said that permission was indeed given to organise the tournament, but the responsibility of organizing it lies with the All India Obedulla Khan Cup Hockey Tournament Committee.
