{image-hockey thotta padam_01042008.jpg news.oneindia.in}New Delhi, Apr 1: Fresh from the debacle at the Olympic qualifiers, Indian hockey received another major shock today with the FIH looking for alternative venues for the 2010 World Cup.

''The FIH reconsidered the conditional awarding of the World Cup 2010 to New Delhi. After having carefully studied the progress made with the project 'Promoting Indian Hockey' as well as the actions taken in the preparation of the World Cup 2010, the Executive Board noted that satisfactory progress had not been made in either area,'' the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said in a statement.

The announcement comes after a two-day board meeting in Switzerland, with the governing body saying it has already started looking for alternative venues in case the event needed to be shifted out of the country.

India's failure to qualify for the Olympics, the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) cold-shoulder to Technical Advisor Ric Charlesworth, its long-standing struggle to find a sponsor for the event and the lack of progress on the infrastructure front are reasons for the mess.

UNI