Times of India: Strange Hockey India rule leaves senior players in lurch

By Sudheendra Tripathi

MUMBAI: For a scant gathering at Churchgate’s Mahindra Stadium on Wednesday, Adrian D’Souza was easily the standout performer. The 31-year-old, turning out for Air India in the semifinals of the Guru Tegh Bahadur Gold Cup hockey tournament against Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), stood like a wall under the bar. He thwarted innumerable ONGC attempts to force the match into a shootout and excelled even then. It was entirely because of his performance that Air India managed to win the semifinal clash in the end.

Despite D’Souza’s roaring show at the MHAL, he has every reason to feel annoyed or even cheated. Hockey India has decided not to include any player above the age of 30 in the auction pool for the cash-rich Hockey India League.

Let alone D’Souza, players like BPCL’s Tushar Khandker, Indian Oil’s Prabhjot Singh and Deepak Thakur – all of them – are in their mid thirties but still a force to reckon with in the domestic circuit. Indian Oil, in fact, have won several domestic tournaments plainly riding on the performances of Singh and Thakur.

The 30-plus-rule, however, is restricted to the Indians alone. When the auction happens in September this year, there would be 20-odd foreign players who are above 30 and will go under the hammer. Hockey India could not be contacted to clarify as to why the rule applies to Indians alone. It is for the first time that such an illogical move has been put in place, one which doesn’t find a mention in any other league in the country, especially where auctions are concerned.

“It is a bit unfair,” said a source associated with a franchise. “A blanket rule like this will not allow some quality players to play the Hockey India League,” the source added.

A former player, who didn’t wish to be named said: “Players in any sport don’t like to call it quits. They keep playing until they are asked or forced to leave. Youngsters do need a push to improve hockey in India. But to keep all players above a certain age out perhaps may not be the right decision after all.”

An Olympian who was present to watch the semifinals, though, threw in another point of view. “Hockey India should conduct fitness tests if they feel the player is not qualified. If the player is fit enough to play he should most certainly be considered. Not allowing ageing players in the auction pool is very unfair,” he said.