Hockey India CEO Elena Norman resigns following pathbreaking tenure
Hockey India CEO Elena Norman, who oversaw the resurrection of the Indian men's hockey team and the unprecedented rise of the Indian women's side, has resigned from her position.
With Norman at the helm, the Indian men's hockey team soared up the FIH rankings while also clinching a historic podium finish at the 2021 Olympic Olympics after a gap of 41 years.
The Indian women's team captained by Rani Rampal qualified for the quarterfinals of the 2018 Women's World Cup before finishing fourth at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey has expressed his gratitude to Norman while also wishing the Australian success in the future.
"I would like to express my gratitude for Elena’s time and dedication. Not only as the President of Hockey India but also as a former player and avid hockey enthusiast, I want to formally acknowledge and extend my sincere gratitude for her remarkable contributions over the last 12-13 years," he was quoted as saying by Hockey India.
"Her dedication and efforts have played a pivotal role in propelling Hockey India and Indian hockey to the commendable position they hold today. I wish her great success in all her future endeavors," Tirkey added.
Elena Norman's tenure spanning close to 13 years also witnessed India hosting two successive Men's Hockey World Cups in 2018 and 2023, the FIH Champions Trophy in 2014, and the World League Finals in 2015 and 2017.
The Indian women's team qualified for the 2016 Rio Games and made it to the Olympics after a gap of 36 years.
The Australian CEO's resignation comes days after women's coach Janneke Schopman handed in her resignation to Hockey India.
Elena Norman was also responsible for the launch of the Hockey India Coaches Education Pathway
Elena Norman has also been credited for launching the Hockey India Coaches Education Pathway as she pointed out to Sportskeeda in 2019.
Expressing pride at Indian umpires being acknowledged by the FIH, Elena Norman revealed that several FIH Academy courses for umpires were conducted in India.
"In the past few years, several umpires and technical officials from India have been acknowledged and empanelled by the International Federation of Hockey. Last year itself, young umpires Shweta Patil from Kolhapur District of Maharashtra and Tarun Yadav from Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh were promoted to the FIH International Panel," she said.
"We also recently conducted FIH Academy Courses for Umpires, Umpire Managers and Technical Officials along-side the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2019," Norman explained.
Elena Normal was a COO with a sports marketing agency in Delhi before moving to Hockey India as CEO.