HI asks for time, players agree to train

Hockey India on Jan. 9: Hockey India on Saturday asked for 20 days time to resolve issues arising out of non-payment of sponsorship money, match fees and bonuses, sparking a revolt in the Indian camp in Pune.
Six senior players flew down to the capital and agreed to resume training after a series of promises made by Hockey India officials here on the day.

Hockey India president A.K. Mattoo, it is learnt, assured the players of a solution by January 31, asking them to begin training at the earliest.

The players put forth their demands — a graded payment system, fixed salaries, insurance cover and pending dues in the last year -in a marathon four-hour meeting attended by Mattoo, Hockey India secretary Narendra Batra, technical director Jagbir Singh, besides national coach Harendra Singh.

Citing lack of funds, Mattoo initially offered the players a sum of Rs 25,000 each, which was rejected immediately.

Said a player on condition of anonymity, “Hockey India officials showed us their accounts in the last year, and said that they have a total fund of Rs 1 crore.
Now since, they have four teams to look after -men’s and women’s senior and junior squads — they said Rs 25,000 was all they had to offer.

“How can a one-time payment of Rs 25,000 resolve any issue? We asked for regular salaries and we won’t settle for anything less.”

The players refused to budge and even demanded a direct meeting with team sponsors Sahara India, who have reportedly paid a sum close to Rs 3.5 crores recently to Hockey India.
Mattoo then asked the players to wait till the Hockey India elections, finally breaking the truce. The players agreed on the 20day deadline and agreed to resume training for the World Cup beginning February 28.

“The World Cup is just a month away, and we understand that not much time can be lost. The players will begin training from tomorrow. We will now wait for another 20 days, and see what happens,” the player said.

The players have also sought personal insurance cover, especially after a career-threatening injury to goalkeeper Baljit Singh.

Skipper Rajpal Singh said later, “We are going in for practice tomorrow. Our job is to play on the ground and the administrators’ job is to look after all other issues.”

Apart from Rajpal, five other senior players -Prabhjot Singh, Sandeep Singh, Arjun Halapaa, Tushar Khandker and Sardara Singh were part of the negotiations with Hockey India