Finding faults in team list, HI selector decides to boycott UP team selections in future

Wajiha Shah

Hockey India selector Olympian Syed Ali is not happy with the UP team list announced today for the senior national hockey championship to be held at Bhopal from June 10. Ali has alleged that the name of a “resourceful” player is there in the team list because of which he has decided not to be a part of the selection committees formed to select the UP teams in future.

Talking to The Indian Express, Syed Ali who was a part of the UP team selection panel confided, “ When the UP probables team was declared after a two-day trial, I had objections against the name of Abhishek Singh in the list as I did not find him anywhere close to the type of talent we got this year during the trials. With very few departmental teams in the nationals this year, about 15 internationals appeared in the UP trials. I had opposed to Abhishek’s selection in the probables list but was told by a selection panel member that his name could not be avoided since he had come in through a ‘source’.”

“I am shocked that when the team list was announced today, I was not consulted. I had been going to the SAI sub-centre located at the far end of the city in the morning as well as in the evening sessions during the trials to select the UP probables team. I could not be there for the final selections today as I am suffering from high fever. So I was quite shocked when I came to know that the name of international player Amit Prabhakar is missing from the team list even though he can play well on different positions, but a player like Abhishek has been inducted into the team. Abhishek had been inducted in the nationals earlier also due to his contacts. Another international player Kothajit Singh is also not in the team,” he said.

Syed claimed that “top officials of UP Hockey are also behind the selection of the player in question. With such practices, hockey can never progress in the land of giants like Dada Dhyanchand and KD Singh ‘Babu’. I have expressed my resentment to UP hockey vice-president Anandeshwar Pandey regarding this player being a part of the team after I came to know about Abhishek’s selection in the evening today but he only said ‘how does it matter if he is also there’.”

“I am 54 and can play better than that player. He appears over-aged at a first glance. I have decided that in future I will never be part of the UP team selection committees. I and other selectors of Hockey India are given complete say while selecting the India teams but it is shocking that merit is not the only criteria in UP team selections. There is no use being a part of the selection panel and seeing just any player becoming a part of the team right under your nose,” he claimed.

When contacted Anandeshwar Pandey denied that he had a talk with Syed Ali regarding the concerned player and said that he was only involved with the “administrative aspect” of UP Hockey.

District Hockey Association (DHA) secretary Avinash Srivastav who was also a team selector said that Amit Prabhakar could not make it to the team as he had an injury in the leg while Kothajit will be playing from Manipur in the nationals. However, he refused to comment about the criteria for selection of Abhishek. “I will talk about it later. No comments,” he said when asked about the player.

Former hockey international RP Singh, however, claimed that Amit could not find a place in the team list since there was stiff competition for the full back position with Diwakar Ram, Chandan Singh, Sunil Yadav and Hari Kripal being already there in the probables camp.

Interestingly, he did not make a mention about any injury or fitness problems with Amit. About Kothajit he said that, “ he left the camp mid-way because he had to play for another team. He was a bit ‘confused’ regarding the team he had to represent because of which he appeared for the UP team trials,” he claimed. Regarding Syed Ali’s signature not being in the team list today, RP Singh said, “He has been unwell for the past two days because of which he was not there when the team was announced today. As far as Abhishek’s name is concerned, he has been a former Sports College trainee and has a lot experience and has played in the nationals. The team selected is the ‘best’. There are 12 players who have represented India at the international level either at the junior or the senior level.”

The UP Team: Devesh Chauhan (captain), Abhinav Pandey, Sunil Yadav, Hari Kripal Yadav, Chandan Singh, Diwakar Ram, Nitin Kumar, Vikas Sharma, Vivek Gupta, Dipak Yadav, Danish Mujtaba, Hamza Mujtaba, M Amir, Pramod Kumar, Javed Ali, S Shankar, Abhishek Singh, M Imran; Coaches: M Raza and Rakesh Kumar; Manager: Harishankar.