Hockey India panel for gradation of players

Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI: Taking an initiative to introduce a graded-payment system, Hockey India (HI) has formed a committee to look into the gradation of players. This will include men and women players of both senior and junior teams.

The committee will consist of former players Ajit Pal Singh, M.P. Ganesh, Zafar Iqbal and Dhanraj Pillay.

Besides, captains of the men’s and women’s teams will also be the members of the panel. HI President Vidya Stokes and Secretary-General Narinder Batra will be the special invitees. Jagbir Singh, Director (Planning) of Hockey India, will be the convener of the panel.

During their revolt in Pune last month, the players had put forth graded payment as one of their demands. They had asked for a gradation system by which they would get an annual contract amount.

Accordingly, ‘A’ category players (those who have played more than 100 international matches at the start of the year; also taking into account their past achievements in major tournaments) would have to be paid Rs. 12 lakh a year, ‘B’ category players (more than 50 matches) Rs. 10 lakh per year and ‘C’ category players (fewer than 50 matches) Rs. 8.5 lakh per year as retainer fee.

Creation of base list

The players had suggested the creation of a base list of 30 players at the start of the year.

They had also demanded that each of these players be medically insured with a policy of Rs. 5 lakh per year.