Sandeep, Sardara banned for two years for indiscipline

NEW DELHI: Sandeep Singh and Sardar Singh were on Saturday banned for two years after a Hockey India committee found their explanation for having quit the camp in Bangalore a little too hard to digest.

The two players had quit the camp for the Asian Champions Trophy on August 23 citing personal reasons, leading to furrowed brows among the coaches and disarray in the team. The federation had expressed dismay at their departure and announced that the disciplinary committee on Saturday would decide on their future.

The decision to ban them was unanimous as both Sandeep and Sardar were repeat offenders.

HI secretary general Narinder Bata, who was among the HI top brass who attended the meeting, said: “The issue was discussed in detail and the players were also given an opportunity to explain their position. It’s the third time in six months they have done this. Enough is enough and we felt some action had to be taken against them.

“They have been banned for two years and cannot participate in HI and International Hockey Federation (FIH) events during this period. It was a unanimous opinion,” he said.

However, the players can go on appeal and have been given 30 days time. A five-member committee – comprising one member from Sports Authority of India, one from Indian Olympic Association, one athletes’ representative and two from HI – will be formed to hear their case.

Both Sardar and Sandeep told the meeting that they had personal problems to confront. Sandeep explained that his son, wife and parents had fallen ill in the last 30 days. But the duo couldn’t withstand the intense interrogation and before long their stories had too many holes for their own comfort. “We asked them whether the personal problems were of recent origin,” HI disciplinary committee chairman Pargat Singh, who attended the meeting on Saturday, told TOI. “They said it had been plaguing them for the past 25-30 days. Then we asked why HI was not informed before the selection trials. They had no answer. We knew they were not telling us the truth.”

Both players gave a written representation on Saturday that they left the camp with the coach’s permission but the meeting realized that their departure had been finalized much earlier as, according to Batra, “the tickets were booked in the afternoon and they sought permission only in the evening”.

In recent times, both Sandeep and Sardar have tended to violate the code of conduct. In May, they chose the Belgium league to the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament, forcing HI to question their conduct. A quick apology followed, where they said that the country came ahead of every other interest. Then came their visit to Mumbai for the World Series Hockey launch in July, without permission from HI, and another apology note followed. “They did not keep their promise at any time,” Pargat said. “I wanted to speak with them and instill sense but they were not prepared to listen to me. I told them I would meet them wherever they wanted. But they didn’t care. So we decided to show them we meant business.”

Batra termed the ban as unfortunate. Sandeep was in a state of shock when he learnt about the ban.