Narinder Batra should resign for misleading nation: Ex-coach Carvalho

“I want Batra to resign as he misled the nation over the participation of WSH players in the Olympics saying they would not be allowed by FIH,” said Joaquim Carvalho. (TOI Photo)
NEW DELHI: Former national coach Joaquim Carvalho on Monday asked Hockey India official Narinder Batra to quit his post for misleading the nation and vindictively keeping players, who took part in the rebel World Series Hockey, out of Olympic Games team selection.

“I want Batra to resign as he misled the nation over the participation of WSH players in the Olympics saying they would not be allowed by FIH (International Hockey Federation). Then how are some Pakistan players who were seen in WSH, like Rehan Butt, taking part in the London Games,” Carvalho told PTI from Mumbai.

Carvalho’s tirade came a day after India lost its fourth straight game in Group B to fellow Asian outfit South Korea and will now have to fight to avoid the wooden spoon in the 12-team tournament in the minor placings match.

Carvalho, a top half back in his playing days and a member of the 1984 Olympic Games team, also asked Batra to resign from his HI post for his “vindictive” move to keep out WSH players from selection of the Indian squad for the London Olympics.

“When the Indian team did not qualify for the Beijing Games in 2008 through the qualifiers in Santiago, Chile, Batra was among the first to ask for my head as coach. Now I say, he should resign for misleading the nation over the WSH players issue. He was vindictive towards WSH players.

“WSH players like Arjun Halappa, Prabhjot Singh and Rajpal Singh have still something left in them to be part of the Indian team. Why were they not considered for selection. Olympic Games is not kid’s party, the pressure is huge right from the time you check into the Games Village. I say it from experience,” said Carvalho.

Carvalho said the very fact that some of the top Pakistan players like Butt, Wasim Ahmad and Shakeel Abbasi, are now representing their country in the Games after paying a fine to their federation for playing in the WSH, showed that Halappa, Prabhjot and Rajpal should have been considered.

“FIH had said that those players who had signed up for WSH before March 31, 2011, can play for their countries and it’s obvious they have stuck to this stand,” said the outspoken Carvalho.

Carvalho also slammed penalty corner expert Sandeep Singh for his flop show at the Olympics and said his decision to leave out the drag-flicker during his reign as coach has now been vindicated.

“He has performed miserably. He is capable of scoring goals only against the weaker teams. He had scored 16 goals in the qualifiers. He has been a total flop. I had dropped him when I was coach and there was a hue and cry,” said the former half back.

Sandeep has scored only one goal, against New Zealand, via his dreaded penalty corner drag-flicks at the Olympics and his failure to find the mark has hurt the Indian campaign.

Carvalho also backed Indian coach Michael Nobbs’s views that the Indian players appeared happy to have made it to the Games after missing the Beijing Olympics four years ago, the first-ever time the country failed to appear at the mega event since 1928.

“It appeared that way, they were happy to have qualified for the Olympics,” said Carvalho.

Incidentally, some players like Shivendra Singh and Tushar Khandekar were playing their first Olympics though they have been on the scene for a long time.

Carvalho was also full of praise for the performance of Pakistan who are in the hunt for the semifinals.

“Pakistan have always troubled Australia. Even in 1984 when Australia and we were the top two seeds in Los Angeles, it was Pakistan who spoilt Australia’s gold medal hopes by beating them in the semis and then went on to win the title. This happened after they were nearly knocked out of the league stage after drawing with a weak team like Kenya,” the former international recalled.