We have long been telling that it was the bureaucracy in the Sports Authority of India, that troubled Richard Charlesworth, driving him to dead end.

We have got a solid proof for this. For long SAI officials have been telling, planting or leaking to the effect that they will pay Ric’s salary from the date the agreement was signed. Signing agreement was a formality which the government arm delayed for so long and woke up only after a national outcry was made out in the aftermath of Chile disaster.

Talking to a group of media men, the Australian legend said that he was willing to sign the contract from the day he was in India, that is, first week of December last year, but the SAI offcials were changing the posts.

When it was signed in the third week of March, the SAI officials refused to pay him from December. Their stand was that they were not aware he was working in India. This was atleast the opinion they sought to give to media. Now, the letter in the article calls the SAI bluff on its face.

The letter signed by Teams Wing Executive Director Dr.P.C.Kashyap says:

‘This is to certify that Mr. Richard Charlesworth, Consultant (Hockey) has been appointed by Government of India to work in India for one year from Now. He is visiting National Institute of Sports, Patiala on official duty as deputed by this office.

THE LETTER BEARS THE DATE 13th December 2007.

This writer is aware of the fact that the SAI officials, known for worshipping those in the seat of power, did not inititate action to sign the contract on the orders of then IHF President KPS Gill.

They were working with Gill hand in glove for reasons best known to them. These are same people who sent him to Australia giving him one-way ticket. Knowingly they stranded him in Perth when the Indian team was in Chile.

Ric also categorically said that he left for Australia in the first week of July to attend Hockey Australia’s Hall of Fame function. “I informed my going to Australia two months in advance, do you want to see the mail I sent?”.

Facts being as such, the babus (bureaucrats) misled even the Sports Minister who spoke ill of Ric for not being in Hyderabad.

So, in India what occurs is what babu wants. And, in the process, we lost a professional coach going away from us.

After 8 months in India, the first payement Ric received was in June this year!!

The SAI officials are used to hire second and third class foreign coaches. Those are generally called bhuka nanga coaches in the sports circle. These SAI officials thought Ric is also one such, without knowing he is the best in the business in the world. They never had an opportunity to deal high profile coaches. When they did, they understood this man could not be bullied, he won’t buy their wisdom in running the sport. Then came the ego which spoilt the whole show.

As Ric claimed new Minister MS Gill had an opportunity to set the things on right path, but ‘he did not give me any semblance on that score when I met him in May’.

Probably, being a former bureaucrat himself, MS Gill too went in line with his bureaucratic hierchy.