National team rejects measly peace offering

MANUJA VEERAPPA

BENGALURU

The producers of the movie Chak De India raked in the moolah, while the stars of the movie soaked in the accolades. But it has done precious little to change the fortunes of the Indian women’s hockey team.
The women, who offered unconditional support to their male counterparts during their revolt earlier this month, now find themselves left in a lurch. While support poured in for the men’s team, the women’s team which is currently training in Bhopal, have been ignored. Hurt by the way they have been treated, the women hockey players have decided to protest, albeit in their own style, sporting black armbands and opening a self-help bank account.

Since Thursday morning help has been pouring in for them, but the people who matter, Hockey India, have only offered Rs 50,000 per player as a means of damage control.

But the girls are in no mood to take the pittance being offered to them.

Speaking to this newspaper, striker Mamta Kharab said, “When Rs 3 lakhs is due, how can we accept Rs 50,000. This is a very low phase for us. “When the Indian Women’s Hockey Federation was in existence they did not do anything for our welfare. With the inception of Hockey India we thought we would see better days, but that has not materialised. At the end of the day we are achievers and we deserve to be recognised and rewarded for our efforts.”

Kharab also said that come what may, the players would not stop their training sessions. “We have a very important season ahead with the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and the World Cup. Every day is important for us and we cannot afford to miss practice. Whether we are given money or not we will continue to practice,” she added.

Kharab, who is also the senior-most player in the team, said it is proving difficult to keep the team motivated. “I’ve been playing for the country for the past 10 years and looking back I don’t think I have got the rewards I deserve. Most of the players in the men’s team have been recruited in various institutional teams, but very few in our team have a job.

“This is the main reason we have been asking for a graded system for stipend, which we did get for some time.”