Bhola elected Hockey Jharkhand president for fourth term on the trot | Hockey news

Kolkata: Hockey India general secretary Bhola Nath Singh was elected unopposed as the president of Hockey Jharkhand for the fourth consecutive term during the association’s 13th annual general meeting in Ranchi on Sunday.However, the election is being held amid a legal dispute over Singh’s eligibility to continue in office.The National Sports Governance Act 2025 states that “a person may hold the office of President or General Secretary or Treasurer, as the case may be, continuously for up to three consecutive terms separately or in combination”.Hockey Jharkhand, however, claimed that Singh’s re-election was in line with the National Sports Policy 2025 implemented by Hockey India.In its official statement, the association said that “due to his tenure in the international sports federation, Bhola Nath Singh has been elected as the president of Hockey Jharkhand for the fourth consecutive time”.Besides being the president of Hockey Jharkhand and general secretary of Hockey India, Singh is also the vice-president of the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) since his election to the post in March 2023.Meanwhile, Manoj Kumar Prasad was elected unopposed as general secretary while Asrita Lakra was elected treasurer.The development comes days after a group of 13 former international and national hockey players sent a legal notice to Hockey Jharkhand and the Jharkhand Sports Department, questioning the legality of the election process. Several petitioners, including Sumrai Tete, along with former Indian women’s captain Asunta Lakra, staged a peaceful protest outside the venue carrying banners but did not make any public statements.During the AGM, Hockey Jharkhand also approved its Annual Accounts and Reports for 2025-26. and distributed sports kits worth INR 65,000 in 20 districts as part of its grassroots development programme.