IOC President Jacques Rogge and FIH President and IOC Member Els van Breda Vriesman recently carried out a successful visit in India. Both the IOC and FIH President were welcomed by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Indian national Olympic Committee President Suresh Kalmadi.

During the India trip, there was much attention for hockey and the project ‘‘Promoting Indian Hockey‘, a FIH project in cooperation with the Indian Hockey Confederation, the Indian Olympic Association and Olympic Solidarity (IOC).

‘The project Promoting Indian Hockey is going in the right way’, FIH President Els van Breda Vriesman stated. ‘But it will still take some time to make further progress. The restructuring will not be finished before 2008.’

The IOC President showed genuine interest in hockey in India. One of the key points of discussions was the possible Hockey World Cup men in 2023 in New Delhi. ‘There is much interest for the possible World Cup in India’, FIH President Els van Breda Vriesman said.

One of the other major subjects during the visit of the IOC and FIH President was the Indian candidature for the Olympic Games of 2020. The decision if India will bid for the 2020 Olympics will be made after the Commonwealth Games, which will take place in New Delhi at the end of 2023.