BANGALORE/PUNE: Indian hockey players are up in arms over non-payment of dues and bonus by Hockey India. They skipped Friday morning’s practice in protest.

The players, who underlined the fact that they had received Rs 25,000 each for every international tournament before Hockey India came into existence, said their decision was justified as it was time HI learnt to share the sponsorship money coming from Sahara. It has been learnt that Sahara has paid in advance a sizeable amount as sponsorship money till the April 2010.

“Primarily, we want monetary rewards for our victories in the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament and the Canadian series, the silver medal at the Punjab Gold Cup and the bronze at the Champions Challenge. We also want them to approve contracts and graded salaries for the national pool of players. Yes, we are all turning out for the country but regular salaries would a big motivating factor.”

In a meeting on Thursday night, the players decided that they would take up the issue with Hockey India chief AK Mattoo in New Delhi on Saturday.

Six players – skipper Rajpal Singh, Sardar Singh, Sandeep Singh, Prabhjot Singh, Tushar Khandker and Arjun Halappa – who will be in Delhi for a promotional shoot for World Cup sponsors Hero Honda, will use the opportunity to broach the matter with Mattoo.

Even as the players accused Hockey India of being insensitive to their request, national coach Harendra Singh countered them, saying it was not the case. “I read out a message from Mattoo on Thursday which said that he would sort out the issue with the players in a meeting in Delhi on Saturday. Yet, the players refused to budge. Friday and Saturday are rest days. But any decision to continue with the boycott of the camp from Sunday onwards can be disastrous to our preparation for the World Cup.”

Harendra reminded his players that they were in the limelight because of the game. “They could have continued with the practice even as they negotiated with Hockey India. This is unfortunate.”

In turn, the players said they had wanted Hockey India to reply to their demands by January 8, which did not happen. “We wanted HI to answer our queries. We decided to boycott training only because there was no reply from them.”

Mattoo said he would talk to the players and sort out the issue. “Whatever is genuine shall be provided. I am not aware of what they were getting, what they are expecting, from where it is to be paid and how. So I thought the best way is to talk to the players, understand the issue and take it to its conclusion. Accordingly, a meeting has been fixed for Saturday,” he told Times Now.

He also denied there was any deadline in the letter sent by the players. “I received the letter on Wednesday. They are national players. They cannot threaten us. It is also sad that they are doing it at the time we are preparing for the World Cup.”

Hockey’s Travails

The Indian hockey team was embroiled in a similar pay controversy in the 1990s ahead of a tournament but relented after being convinced that all dues would be settled. However, the game’s problems continued…

2003: Sahara enters into an eight-year sponsorship contract with the Indian Hockey Federation. Player match fees too materialise but only for a few months. However, IHF continues to reward players for their performances

2008: IHF is dissolved by the Indian Olympic Association in the aftermath of the country’s failure to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. An Ad-hoc body formed by IOA takes over.

June 2009: Hockey India formally comes into existence.

Dec 2009: Sahara signs a new contract in December to sponsor the national hockey team through July 2011. The sponsorship amount works out to around Rs 3.03 crores annually.

January 2010: Pay dispute and player unrest rock Hockey India which is in the midst of affiliation-related and by-laws problems ahead of the elections.