Times Of India:
RANCHI: Olympian Sylvanus Dung Dung on Friday joined ex-hockey ace Gurbux Singh in demanding equal status between cricketers and players of other
games.

“We love all games, including cricket. But why this discrimination when it comes to other games. Gurbux Singh rightly pointed out government’s step-motherly attitude towards hockey and other Olympic sports,” Dung Dung said.

Dung Dung, the member of the 1980 Moscow Olympic gold medal winning Indian team, was reacting to the women’s hockey team recently failing to catch a flight to Russia for the women’s Champions Challenge following “mismanagement”.

“The powers-that-be should not show antipathy towards hockey players, the very game had first put India on the world sporting map with its astounding eight gold medal winning performance in the Olympics,” noted Dung Dung.

“All players representing the country deserve equal status, treatment and respect.”

He expressed hope that such incidents like that happened to women’s team do not repeat in future.

“We know what plight the girls had endured to return empty handed (from Airport) without even getting an opportunity to take the field,” Dung Dung added.