timesofindia.com
field hockey in chile
'FIH conspired to keep India out of Olympics'
JOAQUIM CARVALHO
PTI
It was a painful home-coming for the team and I feel sorry for the
boys. The team's failure to qualify for the Olympics evoked strong
reactions in the country and it is now very im****tant to sup****t the
players in these difficult times.
The last few days have given me the time to ponder about what went
wrong in Santiago and I feel that we could have still made it to the
Beijing Olympics if the umpiring was not biased against us.
We were just not allowed to play our natural game in the final match
against Great Britain by the umpires and the Tournament Director.
There was a discreet conspiracy by the FIH and Great Britain.
In our league match against Great Britain, we received two yellow
cards. Our boys were pulled up without reason and these cards were not
warranted. But the British were getting away scot-free.
Tushar Khandekar was hooked in the penalty area and was floored. No
stroke was given, which we deserved. Vikram Khan getting a yellow card
was justified. But the British player, who was also involved in the
incident, was given a warning.
****vendra Singh was given a yellow card when he slipped over there.
The British player had hooked ****vendra and no penalty was awarded or
a card given to him.
The incident was viewed on the video after the match and the umpire's
blunder was accepted by the Tournament Director. But then, India paid
a heavy price for these lapses.
After the league match against Britain, the tournament director called
our manager and the three Indian players at the ground. They offered
to show the video clippings that our players had indulged in fouls.
The same night, the boys were called from their rooms at 11.00 pm and
given a letter saying that "This is not the way you all should be
playing. You are all international players. How can you play like this
and we are warning you. You all will be severely pulled up in the
final match."
They literally psyched out our main players. Why did they call Gurbaz
Singh when he had not received a yellow card at all? It was just to
put us under pressure ahead of such a crucial match.
Our boys had mentally lost the game even before going onto the field.
They were totally shattered. Gurbaz and other players were asking me
as to how they can go for a tackle when they were sure that they will
be given yellow cards and suspensions.
People concerned in FIH require their privacy and do not want to be
disturbed. It is also a mystery to me as to how the hotel management
allowed international players disturbed at the dead of the night. I
believe there are some new rules brought in by the FIH.
The Tournament Director applied pressure on our boys under the pretext
of a complaint by the British coach for intentional fouls by our
players. The video replay showed that Gurbaz had not touched any
player. The umpire also did not warn Gurbaz. How can the tournament
director issue Gurbaz such a severe letter?
When I queried they said this is something new that the FIH has
started recently. But, can they come at 11 in the night?
I also read some articles where Ric Charlesworth said that I was keen
to keep him away from the team and that I was responsible for
preventing him from going to Chile. Charlesworth had said that if he
had come to Santiago, India would have qualified.
It is very surprising as Charlesworth had earlier said that it will
take India five years to get to the top. Could he do it in one day?
Secondly, in Chile, Bob Davidson of the FIH called me up and said Ric
was waiting in Perth. The Indian government and SAI had told him that
if I wanted, Charlesworth will be in Chile.
I told Davidson "how can I answer this question of yours? Who am I to
answer this question?"
When we went to Australia for a few exposure games, I was not even
aware that he (Charlesworth) is coming to Perth. Before leaving India
for Perth, I had acknowledged his efforts in arranging the tour.
Nobody from the Government or SAI has advised me till now about
Charlesworth's involvement with the senior team. When did I say I
don't want Charlesworth?
I think it is time that we compare these incidents to what happened to
our cricket players in Australia recently. The umpires killed our Test
team in Australia. The Indian Cricket Board and the media sup****ted
them fully. Then, the ICC crumbled down.
Now, the same thing should be done instead of criticising the Indian
hockey players. In this case, the Indian people and the media should
have sup****ted the players. We should compare as to what generally
happens to our cricket teams on their tours to Australia and England.
Were there any instances of a cricketer being called from his room to
the lobby at the dead of the night and reprimanded by the Match
Referee? This does not happen and should not happen even in future to
any s****tsperson in the world. Definitely, our boys were under
pressure.
When I announced that I will quit, the boys were so upset that they
all came to me and pleaded to me that I should not quit. They all said
we do not want anybody to come and spoil the composition of the team
built all these 10 months. It is just one bad match that we played.
They said that if I quit they will be totally shattered and they do
not want to continue.
I am going to mention all these in my re****t to the IHF, which goes to
the SAI and the S****ts Ministry also.
The FIH did not post neutral umpires as has been the practice in such
tournaments. When they had a European and a South African to officiate
in our final match, why they did not have an Asian to officiate with
the European or South Africans? They cannot because an Asian will not
suc***b to FIH to fix India.
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