Hockey India Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh Re-elected Hockey Jharkhand President Amid Legal Challenge

Kolkata: Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh was on Sunday elected unopposed as Hockey Jharkhand president for a fourth consecutive term during the association’s 13th Annual General Meeting in Ranchi. The election, however, comes amid a legal challenge over Singh’s eligibility to continue in office. The National Sports Governance Act, 2025 states that “a person may continuously hold the position of either the president or the secretary general or the treasurer, as the case may be, for up to three consecutive terms separately, or in combination thereof”. Hockey Jharkhand, however, maintained that Singh’s re-election was in accordance with the National Sports Policy 2025, which Hockey India has implemented. In its official release, the association stated that “owing to being an office-bearer in an international sports federation, Bhola Nath Singh was elected Hockey Jharkhand president for a fourth consecutive time”. Besides serving as Hockey Jharkhand president and Hockey India secretary general, Singh has also been 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 served a legal notice to Hockey Jharkhand and the Jharkhand Sports Department, questioning the legality of the election process. Several of the petitioners including Sumrai Tete, along with former India women’s captain Asunta Lakra, staged a peaceful protest outside the venue carrying placards, but did not make any public statements. During the AGM, Hockey Jharkhand also ratified its annual accounts and reports for 2025-26 and distributed sports kits worth ₹65,000 each to 20 districts as part of its grassroots development programme.