The first tournament Indian women’s hockey team played after Hockey India was formed was the Champions Challenge II in June, which they won. The second was the Asia Cup, where they finished runners-up and qualified for next year’s World Cup.

However, despite the impressive performances on the field, the players are still waiting for their daily allowances for both trips. The sports ministry has fixed a $35 per diem allowance for every player on international tours, but the players are yet to receive any money.

“We keep hearing there are proposals to introduce match fees. Forget that, we haven’t even got our daily allowance for two tours,” said a senior player on condition of anonymity, since there is a gag on the players from speaking to the media. “We are playing only for the love of the game and for the pride of representing the country in international meets. There is no other incentive,” the player added.

Feeling discrimination

Most players feel discriminated against by the officials who, they feel, are interested only in men’s hockey. “We understand that the men’s team has been consistently receiving their stipulated allowance. The officials are interested only in them because that’s where the media and government attention is, despite the women’s team consistently performing better,” another player said.

While the players admit that the money isn’t really crucial to their basic needs — most of them are employed with the Indian Railways and get enough support even during tours — they feel that the issue needed to be addressed.

While Hockey India vice-president Vidya Stokes did send out a congratulatory message for the team, she and other federation officials were unavailable for comment on the issue despite repeated attempts.