Nobbs asked me retire, says Baljit Singh
BANGALORE: Former Indian goalkeeper Baljit Singh, hurt by his omission from the list of probables for the Asian Champions Trophy in September, said he would not retire from international hockey and would fight on to regain his place in the national team.
Baljit, who spent two uncertain years in the wilderness after a freak injury during a golf-ball training routine in Pune in 2009 threatened to blind him, broke down at a press conference in the city on Saturday after his name did not figure in the pruned list of 48 players following Hockey India’s three-day trials.
“I was picked based on my performance in the National Games at Ranchi,” said Baljit of his gold medal-winning showing with Punjab. “However, I have been dropped because of poor vision in my right eye and nobody has taken responsibility for the decision,” he said.
Calling his coaches ‘heartless’, Baljit said he was asked to undergo an eye examination just a day before the trials began even though HI had all his reports from previous check-ups. “My sentiments were not taken into account and I have been unjustly treated. Why call me for trials if I am not good enough in the first place?” a teary-eyed Baljit asked reporters.
“Some seniors were asked to take medical tests and then attend the camp. I was not asked to undergo any such test. I did well in the practice sessions and trials. But then I was asked to undergo an eye test. After the test, they told me I had problems with my peripheral vision. My vision had not got any worse at all. In fact, it has been improving. I had even requested the authorities to test my vision after the trials. If they had obliged, there would have been no need for a test had I failed to make the cut.”
Baljit said he was shocked by chief coach Michael Nobbs’ suggestion on Thursday that he should retire from international hockey. “He called me to his room as early as Thursday and openly advised me to retire. He even offered to throw a farewell bash for me. When I refused, he suggested that I join the coaching team as a goalkeeping coach which is something I haven’t thought about as I still want to represent India. I haven’t fought this hard to pass time,” he said, adding he was not disappointed that he was leaving the camp but because his determination was not recognized.
Chief coach Michael Nobbs, who left for Australia on Saturday to get his work permit before returning to India, said he was saddened by the turn of events.
“From the time I have come here I have been very appreciative of Baljit, because it is very tough to make it back to a national camp after such a grave injury. I’m surprised if he thought conducting tests was humiliating. While watching him in action I noticed that he had a problem while saving the ball. Like any other medical test conducted for players who are not match fit, he went through a vision test and unfortunately his vision is low and he wasn’t medically fit to make the cut.
“I told Baljit to think about retiring from international hockey since his eye sight will not improve further. He is a very talented player and we could utilize his service in grooming youngsters,” Nobbs said, while stressing he had no ill-will towards the goalkeeper when he made the suggestion.
There is no other prominent omission as the selection committee comprising Col Balbir Singh, BP Govinda, Thoiba Singh, Subbaiah and government observer Dilip Tirkey finalized the list after the three-day selection trials.
The probables: Goalkeepers: Bharat Chetri, Adrian D’Souza, PR Sreejesh, Kamaldeep Singh.
Defenders: Rupinder Pal Singh, Sandeep Singh, William Xalxo, VR Raghunath, Harpreet Singh, Gurjinder Singh, Diwakar Ram.
Midfielders: Sardar Singh, Gurbaj Singh, Vikram Pillay, Arjun Halappa, Vikas Sharma, Vikramkanth, Bharat Chhikara, Danish Mujtaba, Prabodh Tirkey, Vikas Pillay, Birender Lakra Jr, Ravi Pal, Ignace Tirkey, Manjit Kullu, Kothajit, Manpreet Singh, Ajitesh Roy.
Forwards: Rajpal Singh, SV Sunil, Tushar Khandker, Amar Aiyamma, Mandip Antil, Shivendra Singh, Bikas Toppo, Sarvanjit Singh, Roshan Minz, Nithin Thimmaiah, Prabhdeep Singh, Banmali Xess, Akashdeep Singh, Gurvinder Singh Chandi, Pradhan Somanna, Prabhjot Singh, Yuvraj Valmiki, Dharamvir Singh, Chinglinsana, Ramandeep Singh.
The probables are for the inaugural edition of the Asian Champions Trophy at Ordos, China, from September 3-13. Participating nations are India, Pakistan, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and China. The first phase of the camp will end on July 31. The second begins on August 8 and will go on till the team leaves for China on August 28.