The Indian Express: Some players out to sabotage m

As news of a players’ revolt in Indian hockey started to gain momentum, Spaniard Jose Brasa today lashed out at some senior members of the team, saying they were trying to “sabotage” his stint as chief coach.

Brasa said the six players who had missed the ongoing camp in Pune, Hari Prasad, VS Vinay, Dilip Tirkey, Probodh Tirkey, Ignace Tirkey and Ravi Pal, were leading a campaign against him. “These players are out to sabotage me,” he told The Indian Express. “Maybe I am a little aggressive and people don’t like (it). But I have to be if India is to move from its world ranking of 12.”

Brasa also pointed out several organisational shortcomings in Indian hockey — from bad diet to bad planning for Champions Challenge next month, to faulty visa applications that will keep the team for an extra day in Madrid on their way to Salta, Argentina.

“The players will be doing nothing for a whole day in Madrid instead of reaching Argentina early and mentally preparing for the tournament”, he said.

Hockey India president A K Mattoo admitted there was a “problem” between the coach and some players. But he defended the six who had not turned up for the camp, saying they were out due to personal reasons. “I have come to conclusion that there has to be better communication between the players and the coaches,” Mattoo said. “Brasa should stop looking for excuses all the time and carry on training with the facilities at hand.” As for the organizational issues raised by Brasa, they needed to be sorted out through proper communication, he said.

Mattoo added to the confusion when he said that Sandeep Singh was still the captain of the Indian team and would remain until further notice. “I’ve not received the player list yet. The team has not yet left for Argentina. Hence, Sandeep is still the captain,” Mattoo said. Earlier this week, Brasa had said Rajpal Singh had replaced Sandeep as skipper because the defender was unfit to travel to Argentina. Brasa had also added that captaincy was anyway affecting Sandeep’s performance.

When contacted, Sandeep said: “I had a problem which I discussed with the Hockey India official (Mattoo). I’m satisfied with the solution that he has provided.”

Brasa was appointed India’s chief coach in April, a few months after Australian Ric Charlesworth quit his job with the Indian Hockey Federation in disgust. Brasa is an FIH Master Coach and was in charge of the Spanish women’s team that won the gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.