SAI shunts out 9 players from women’s hockey team

At a time when the state is not doing particularly well in hockey, the news of nine women players being shunted out by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Gujarat chapter, has come as a shock. The issue is rooted in an argument between the said players and their coach over participation in a national and state-level championship.
The nine girls — all from the tribal regions of Chhota Udepur, Valsad and Kutch and aged between 17 and 19 — were left with no option but to return to their villages after they were asked to leave the SAI hostel in Gandhinagar. Interestingly, the women’s hockey team is now left with only two players.

It all began when the girls requested their coach to participate in two back to back tournaments — a state-level night hockey tournament held in Vadodara and a national tournament in Nasik. “We had initially said that we want to participate in both the tournaments; and despite the back to back schedule, we knew we could manage it. But the coach refused it outright and even rebuked us. We went to her to apologise and agreed that we would play only in the Nasik tournament. Who would not want to participate in a national championship?” said Champa Rathwa, a player from Chhota Udepur.

“But then she said that she had already cancelled our registration and would not take us in the team. Since we could not go to Nasik, we didn’t want to lose out on the Vadodara tournament. We participated as we had prior written permission,” added Champa.

The girls had won the tournament, beating six other teams from the state. “The Vadodara tournament was held from May 31 to June 4, while the Nasik tournament was to start on June 4; the girls were required to report on June 3. But the team went to Vadodara without a coach or permission. They were removed on the grounds of indiscipline. We now have two girls in the hockey team,” said M N Thakor, a SAI coach.

SAI hostel and the girls’ coach, Ila Rani Sharma, said it is an annual process to shunt out players on the basis of poor performance and hostel attendance. “These girls had poor hostel attendance, which shows they have no interest in the sport. It was I who selected them from tribal villages, brought them here, and taught them to play. They are just complicating the issue. They are not the only ones to be marched out: 11 players from various sporting disciplines have also been asked to go,” she added.

The move has even jeopardised the education of these girls. Parita Dodhi, another player from Valsad, said: “As players, why would we refuse to play in national level tournaments? Ours is the best women team in Gujarat and no one can beat us at the state level competitions. But we are not taken out to play in national games regularly. Instead, our coach insults us saying we should not consider ourselves as international players. We have rented a small room in Gandhinagar and asked our families for monetary help so that we can at least complete college.”

A senior sports official said on condition of anonymity: “We have come to know about the issue but cannot do anything about it as it is a SAI issue. Girls having potential of being good players have fallen victims to ego within the system.”

SAI director Shyam Sundar could not be contacted despite several attempts.