Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Thursday said that he would like to see the two warring factions -- Hockey India (HI) and Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) reach an agreement in the presence of FIH's top officials, who are currently in the country for the ongoing Olympic qualifiers.

Hockey India on Friday lambasted Indian Hockey Federation for trying to lure players for its unsanctioned World Series Hockey league, saying such efforts by IHF were "blatant anti-national campaign" which will lead to "slow poisoning" of the national game.

Another year passed but the sorry state of Indian hockey refused to change as the prolonged struggle for power between two warring federations once again took centre-stage over the performance of the national team in 2011.

After squabbling for long over who should run the game in the country, Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation appeared to be heading towards a merger with both the federations agreeing "in principle" to form a unified body.

Faced with the prospect of India`s hockey team being ousted from the race to Olympics, the Sports Ministry has called a meeting of the IOA, Hockey India and the Indian Hockey Federation on October 14 to resolve the dispute related to the game`s governance in the country.

Taking a serious note of FIH's threat to stop India's participation in London Olympics if issues relating to the game's governance in the country were not resolved, the IOA has convened an urgent meeting of Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation on October 4.

Served with an ultimatum to merge or face consequences, the warring Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation on Monday agreed to jointly work together under a temporary arrangement for the betterment of the game without forming a unified body.

The Sports Ministry, Ajay Maken on Saturday served Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation an ultimatum that they either merge into a unified national body in two days or face stern action.

Former Olympian and Jharkhand’s team coach, Manohar Topno has criticised the dispute between Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation that have majorly affected the development of the sport in the country.

Indian hockey team's preparation for the London Olympics is in jeopardy as the Sports Ministry is yet to approve the training camp, which was scheduled to start at the SAI centre in Bangalore from Monday.