Rajpal Singh with teammates during a felicitation, in New Delhi, on Tuesday. The bad news came later. A Telegraph picture

New Delhi: There is hardly a day in Indian hockey when you do not see a controversy.

The national team’s recent victory in the Asian Champions Trophy should have been an occasion of celebration but, on Wednesday, it created further bad blood between players and administrators. The team members rejected Hockey India’s (HI) cash award of Rs 25,000 each for winning the prestigious meet.

The situation, which turned ugly with players, led by skipper Rajpal Singh, openly accusing the national body of insulting the team, was finally defused after sports minister Ajay Maken stepped in to announce a cash award of Rs 1.5 lakh for each member of the team.

The announcement came after HI wrote to sports ministry requesting help to pacify the players. In a hurriedly called press conference in the evening, the sports minister, however, made it clear the awards were not specially sanctioned for the players.

“The scheme was already there in public domain and I thought it was not required to make it public again. This is not a pittance. It is what they deserve. I spoke to Hockey India secretary general Narendra Batra and told him if he wanted to reward the players we could have done it together so that the players got Rs1.75 lakh each,” said the minister.

Maken also had a dig at HI saying the players were right in rejecting the meagre amount. “I think the players have done the right thing by refusing the Rs 25,000 award announced by Hockey India. It was an insult to them, especially after winning such a prestigious tournament… I will request HI not to take action against the players,” he said.

Batra, on his part maintained his body was no position to pay more than Rs 25,000. “It was all that we could afford. Budget permitted, we would have given the boys Rs. one crore each. But our resources are low. It is unfortunate the players thought we were trying to insult them. The intention was not so… we will call the players and explain them the situation,” he said.

While Batra took refuge under the plea of being short of cash, old timers recalled how way back in 1983, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) went out of their way to arrange cash awards for the World Cup-winning side.

Determined to reward ‘Kapil’s Devils’ for their extraordinary display, the BCCI, who had virtually empty coffers, requested the legendary Lata Mangeshkar to perform in a musical night in Delhi. Lata happily obliged, and the Board, from the money generated, distributed Rs 1 lakh each to all members of the Indian team.

Skipper Rajpal also remained unconvinced by Batra's arguments. “A bigger award would not only encourage the Indian team players but also the youngsters, who are willing to play the game in future. What HI offered was simply disappointing. The players definitely deserved better,” said the captain.

Meanwhile, the deputy chief minister of Punjab, Sukhbir Singh Badal, announced a cash award of Rs. 25 lakh for the team and then demanded an apology from the union government for rewarding the players poorly.

In reply, Maken said: “I am glad that the states are coming forward but they should not indulge on one-upmanship.”