Not guilty, says dropped Gurbaj
The midfielder, who is facing disciplinary action, says he never indulged in groupism, indiscipline
Gurbaj Singh has refused to take things lying down. In fact, the experienced right-half, who has been accused of misbehaviour and creating disharmony within the team, has chosen a rather difficult path to prove his innocence. It’s a path which other hockey players in recent memory have feared to tread for the sake of their careers.
The 26-year-old has challenged Hockey India (HI) by raising serious questions about the findings of the coaching staff and the subsequent punishment handed out by the Harbinder Singh-led Special Committee.
The committee was originally constituted to decide on Paul van Ass’ continuance as the chief coach of the national team.
Gurbaj, who has over 200 international caps, has mustered the courage to confront the committee members and ask them on what grounds has he been accused of indiscipline and groupism. The disciplinary action recommended by the committee has cost him his place in the squad for the European tour.
“All the allegations levelled against me are baseless. I have been wronged and I would like to be provided an opportunity by HI to defend my case. I have sought an audience with the committee members. I actually want to know who has levelled such charges against me,” Gurbaj told The Tribune, breaking his silence on the issue for the first time.
“I don’t know when I misbehaved with the coaches or indulged in groupism. Neither High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans nor Van Ass ever said anything negative about me. In fact, Oltmans told me after his meeting with Batra in Delhi that he had no problem with me. During our team meeting, (captain) Sardar Singh also said there’s nothing wrong with my behaviour.
“If we talk about the two Indian coaches, Jude Felix and Sandeep Sangwan, who accompanied the team to Belgium, I share a very good rapport with them. Sandeep was the manager of the team and he must have filed the report on the team’s performance and players’ behaviour. If the manager has mentioned such things about me, then I would like to question his findings during the hearing. I would request the committee to immediately convene a meeting and call all the parties concerned,” he added.
The right-half, who has been one of India’s top performers at the international level, was asked by Van Ass to shift to the right-wing position during the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia. The same experiment was repeated during the Test series against Japan and the HWL Semifinals, where he was made to juggle between the right-half and right-wing positions.
“I don’t know why Van Ass thought of experimenting with my position despite the fact that I am much better as a right-half. During the Azlan Shah Cup, Van Ass asked me to give it a try and I agreed to his suggestion. The same experiment continued in Japan and Belgium. It was during the HWL Semifinals that Van Ass came up to me and praised me for accepting his challenge of playing at a different position. That’s all I know,” Gurbaj said.
Asked if he ever disapproved of playing at a particular position, Gurbaj said he once told Van Ass that it might be difficult to expect the same performance from him if his position was changed. “That was a polite suggestion, nothing else. That was made at the Azlan Shah Cup and nobody ever talked about it later. I don’t know what happened in Belgium,” he said.
Gurbaj said he has always played for the team and given his all as a midfielder, a statement backed by India’s two most experienced players, Sardar and goalkeeper PR Sreejesh. “He is a very good player and it takes a lot of hard work to become a player like him and reach that level. We need Gurbaj,” Sardar said.
Sreejesh said he found nothing wrong in his behaviour. “He is a fantastic player, one of the best in the team. He is an experienced guy with a lot of talent,” Sreejesh said.
Gurbaj said that the committee should ask coaches such as Harendra Singh, Cedric D’Souza and Joaquim Carvalho about his commitment to the team. “As far as my relationship with my teammates is concerned, please go and ask them how much we love each other. All these talks of creating rift are untrue,” said Gurbaj.