The Hindu: Brasa not the person to pick captain: G

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Brasa not the person to pick captain: Gill

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Union Sports Minister, M.S. Gill, on Wednesday told Jose Brasa to concentrate on the job for which he had been hired rather than get involved in a controversy over the choice of captain of the Indian hockey team for the forthcoming World Cup tournament.

Coming down hard on the Chief Coach of the Indian hockey team, who had reportedly been trying to get Rajpal Singh replaced by Prabhjot Singh as captain of the team, the Sports Minister said: “We brought this coach (Brasa) at great cost to coach the team. His job is to coach; he could be consulted in naming the captain. But he is not the person who should be choosing the captain.”

Needless tussle

In what has developed into a needless tussle between the Chief Coach and the selectors, the Spaniard had announced Prabhjot as the captain in the team bus after a trial match last Saturday ahead of a formal announcement by Hockey India (HI) that Rajpal was being retained skipper for the World Cup. Rajpal had the backing of the entire selection committee, according to HI.

A clear division among the players seemed to have been created since then and on Monday, according to PTI, Brasa went beyond his brief and took a vote among the players to assess who had the majority support between Rajpal and Prabhjot. The shocking move by the Chief Coach has come in for criticism from all quarters.

Expressing displeasure

Responding to the developments over the past few days, Gill put the onus of putting up a good performance in the World Cup on the coach and the players. He expressed his displeasure in no uncertain terms over the reported vote and the continuing attempts by the coach to over-ride the authority of the selection committee.

“His role (in selection of captain) can be advisory; nothing more,” said the minister.

“There is a selection committee composed of very well-known international hockey players like Ajitpal Singh and Zafar Iqbal. There are government observers in the Hockey India selection committee. It is a highly competent committee,” said Gill.

He said, the selectors had made their choice — “like they do in cricket” — and their choice happened to be Rajpal, who had led the country earlier also in Argentina, where the team did reasonably well.

“There is no reason for anyone else to interfere with this selection,” the minister asserted. “If a vote is taken to decide who should be the captain, as had been reported, then it affects the integrity and unity of the team that is so essential for it to perform when the World Cup tournament starts on February 28. I am surprised such a vote was taken,” said Gill and added, “I have been following all these reports.”

Focus on the World Cup

Understandably upset by the way things had developed over the past few days, with a World championship at home round the corner, the Sports Minister said: “I want to give a clear message: let the team fully focus on the task of performing in the World Cup. We all know the overall standards (in world hockey) and our own standing.”

The minister said he happened to be at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968 and had the disappointing experience of seeing the Indian hockey team slump from its Olympic champion status, with a team that had joint captains (late Prithipal Singh, and Gurbux Singh). “It did no good to Indian hockey,” he said.

Gill said the selection committee had a job to do and it had done that job. “Now, I expect the coach (Brasa) and the players to do their duty; that is to show unity and give their best performance in the World Cup.”