Khandaker Jamil Uddin has resigned as vice-president of the Bangladesh Hockey Federation’s ad-hoc committee along with four other members, it was revealed at a press conference on Saturday.
Jamil tendered his resignation along with another vice-president of the ad-hoc committee, KMR Manjur, and three other members of the executive committee – Najirul Islam Naju, Shafiqul Islam Litu and Sultan Uddin – citing that indiscipline is currently existing in the game of hockey.
A rumour was also swirling around that seven or eight members of the 31-member ad-hoc committee are also pondering resignation.
Jamil noted that he was often a victim of injustice and inequality, along with the other four members, that prompted him to walk out from his position as vice-president.
‘It has been eighteen months since the ad-hoc committee was established. But I was not invited to attend even a single meeting of the executive committee. I did not receive a single letter,’ said a disenchanted Jamil.
‘When I came to the programme which celebrated the 40th year of hockey in the country, I saw that everyone received a blazer with the exception of me. The blazer is not a big deal, I was dejected because they disregarded me,’ he added.
When asked about his failure to arrange even a single hockey league when he was the general secretary of the BHF, Jamil pointed out the lack of assistance he received from the clubs as the major obstacle.
‘I assembled everyone for 32 meetings. However, the clubs offered opposition. They were more interested in organising second division and first division hockey tournaments. But I insisted on hosting the league as it is the main competition in the country through which the players earn their bread and butter,’ said Jamil.
Jamil was of the opinion that he was one of the persons responsible behind the national team’s recent advance to the second round of the World Hockey League, where Bangladesh defeated powerhouse China whilst also notching victories over higher-ranked Oman and Fiji.
‘I am quite elated with the recent successes. I would like to think that I have played my part well. I sent 20-25 players to Europe twice where they garnered courage while playing. That is why the boys were able to perform exceedingly well,’ he added.
Jamil concluded the press conference expressing his hope that the hockey players will eventually switch their attention to playing rather than revolting and he also reiterated his doubts over holding of a fair election.
-With New Age input
