They reported Thursday in their newspapers the indignation of the Asian leader “in front of derogatory comments for Indian athletes and coaches”, even going so far as to accuse Belgium of “racial discrimination”.

Last week, ARBH was disappointed with the final round of these trophies, where all the prizes – 8 different – all went to India. Belgium, Olympic gold medalist and winner of the Pro League for men, like the Netherlands for women, were left empty-handed.

On social media, the Belgian federation like several Red Lions posted critical messages about these elections. “This is not normal! The credibility and image of our sport was once again taking a hit”, we read on the official Twitter account of the Olympic champions. Even in India, the system set up by the FIH to designate the winners is dividing public opinion. Some wonder if there is not an amalgam made with the election of the president of the FIH, Narinder Batra, for two votes in front of Marc Coudron and what would have happened if the Belgian leader had taken the direction of the FIH , given that the voting system was already in place.

The same regrets that the reactions and criticism fall after the election and not before, arguing that when Belgium had won all the awards in 2018, it was “only” silver medalist and had not yet won any major tournament. Others are indignant at the reaction of the Indian federation and reject criticism of the FIH and the federation (EHF) which has failed to rally most of its European member nations behind their nominees (only 19 European associations out of 42 voted).

Anyway, Gyanendro Ningombam demands a public apology from the ARBH for “his humiliating offers”. “Otherwise, HI turns to an FIH ‘governance panel’ to conduct an in-depth investigation into potential cases of racial discrimination against its athletes and coaches,” reveals the letter to the FIH. For its part, questioned by the BELGA Agency, the ARBH did not wish to react.