Dhanraj Pillay

New Delhi: Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi, Ajit Wadekar and athlete Sunita Rani on Thursday joined the ever-growing campaign in favour of Dhanraj Pillay and urged the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) to include the star forward in the list of Olympic hopefuls.

Kalmadi said in a press release that he had made a strong plea for the inclusion of Pillay during a talk with IHF president K.P.S. Gill a couple of days back.

Sunita said: “He Pillay is a great player with vast experience. He should be picked immediately so that he can concentrate fully on the Olympic Games which are just three months away.

Former India cricket captain Ajit Wadekar and former Test batsman Sandeep Patil have also come out in support of Pillay.

Wadekar said here that it was very sad that the IHF has kept out Pillay, Dhillon and Sainiwhen the team was getting ready for its biggest test. "Experience always counts in any sports and I think great injustice have been done to these three stars," Wadekar said.

“By ignoring experienced players before Athens Olympics, the IHF has dealt a body blow to the hopes of millions of Indians' dream of winning a Olympic medal,” Patil said.

Baskaran wants probe

Former captain Vasudevan Baskaran alleged that Pillay was being victimised by the IHF for seeking more money for players and demanded a probe by the Union government into the functioning of the federation.

“The government should conduct a probe into the whole affair, including functioning of both IHF and the SAI, a government undertaking, who were responsible for such pathetic treatment meted out to best players in the country,” he said. (PTI)