Tushar, Shivendra return advance amount to WSH

M.S.Unnikrishnan
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 27
Indian hockey stars Tushar Khandker and Shivendra Singh have returned the advance money they took for playing in the World Series Hockey (WSH) to Nimbus Communications Ltd following their failure to honour the commitment of playing in the WSH, which started on February 29.

Tushar Khandker returned Rs 63,000 while Shivendra Singh paid back Rs 90,000, which they had received as advance payment from the WSH.

The WSH had issued notices to some of the players who failed to honour their contractual agreement, as Hockey India had selected all the top players among the 48 probables for the Olympic camp, after India qualified for the 2012 London Olympics.

Hockey India had barred the selected players from playing in the WSH, as it was not an event sanctioned by the International Hockey Federation (FIH), though it had the full support of the Union Sports Ministry and the Sports Authority of India. Sports Minister Ajay Maken had even expressed his surprise at the early commencement of the preparatory camp for the Olympics, as he felt that the players would have got valuable exposure by playing in the WSH. But Hockey India stood its ground, and insisted that no player from the national camp would be allowed to play in the WSH, which kept players like Tushar and Shivendra out of the WSH.

Both the players, in identical replies to Nimbus, defended their decision not to play in the WSH, as “the dates on which Numbus has chosen to schedule the said league have rendered the contract impossible of performance, as the said league is scheduled to be held on dates that conflict with my national duty as a member of the Indian hockey team”.

“The said agreement is, therefore, void as it constitutes an agreement to do an impossible act”, they noted.

The players also pointed out that “the agreement itself recognizes that primacy be given by players to attend to national duty. It is the dream of any sportsman to represent their country in the Olympics”. Their reason for not playing in the WSH was that they were expected to be selected for the Olympics and “required to attend all training and selection camps that are scheduled for the Olympic team, and follow a diligent conditioning schedule, which also includes prescribed periods of rest”.

The players also contended that they were “assured on a number of occasions that in the event India were to qualify for the Olympics, Nimbus would not interfere with players prioritizing national duty over participation in the commercial league as this was already provided for in the terms of agreement”.

Both Shivendra Singh and Tushar Khandker also stated that at the time of signing of the agreement, they were assured by representatives of Nimbus that “the league would be a sanctioned league, and the dates would be scheduled with the permission of all concerned authorities so as to avoid any conflict with the calendar of the Indian national team.”