New Delhi: Legendary hockey player Mohammad Shahid said mercurial striker Dhanraj Pillay was given a raw deal in his final Olympics as he was not allowed to play for a longer period despite performing better than other forwards in Athens.

Pillay, who played his fourth and final games, made brief appearances in most of the contests and played for less than three minutes in his last Olympic match.

“He played well and even better than others but was not allowed to play for long throughout the Olympics. The country should be grateful to such players but unfortunately they were given raw deals. I strongly believe that whatever happened to Pillay in Athens was intentional,” Shahid said on Thursday.

“I could make out that he was very very hurt after the last game (against Korea). He was crying, which is quite understandable. He deserved a better treatment for the contributions he has made to the game in the last 16 years.”

Incidentally, Shahid, whom Pillay considers his idol, had suffered a similar fate as his protege when he was forced to make an unceremonious exit from the game in his final Olympics in Seoul in 1988.

But the Varanasi-based former Indian captain said such things were not new in Indian hockey. “These things have been happening for years. Players who gave their all for the game, got such treatments in return.”

On India’s dismal showing in the Games, Shahid blamed it on poor planning and said the decision to hire German coach Gerhard Rach just before the Olympics undid all the good work done in the run-up to the event. “I would not have even accepted the offer at the last minute. If he (Rach) was so good, he would have been coaching his own national team,” he said.

“Rajinder Singh had worked hard for three years. He knew the strength and weaknesses of the players. The change affected the performance of the team.” (PTI)