New Delhi: Less than 24 hours after the Indian hockey team regained their place in the Olympics, the controversy over World Series Hockey (WSH) raised its ugly head again, on Monday.
Though the International Hockey Federation (FIH) president, Leandro Negre said he had asked Hockey India (HI) and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) to patch up in the next one month, the players, he warned, should participate in the WSH at their own risk.
With the WSH inauguration set for Wednesday, the FIH and Hockey India seemed determined not to allow the cash-rich tournament to achieve the required success. Knowing well that the entire Indian national team has already signed up for the “unsanctioned” league, HI hurriedly announced the dates for the national camps in Bangalore from March 5.
“It is only an attempt to stop the players from playing in the WSH,” claimed a source. HI officials, however, are confident that no national team player would risk his career to play in the league.
The Indian players, too, seem to have given up on the idea of making quick bucks by playing the WSH. Though unwilling to come on record, most players said on Monday that they would not like to earn the wrath of HI.
Moreover, the players continued to receive cash awards for winning the Olympic qualifiers in the capital on Sunday. While the Madhya Pradesh government promised to give every player Rs. 1 lakh each, a similar cash incentive was announced by the Haryana government.
Negre, however, said he would not object to the hosting of WSH in case HI and IHF sort out their problem.
“We are listening to both sides and are trying to find a solution. There are some small disputes that need to be addressed. We have given the two sides one month’s time to sort things out,” he said.
Chief coach Michael Nobbs also faced some tough questions for excluding former India captains Rajpal Singh and Arjun Halappa from the list of 48 probables for the Olympics. Both were kept as standbys during the qualifiers. The India coach said that he took the decision to drop Rajpal and Halappa after assessing the pros and cons of the situation.
