New Delhi: Indian hockey lay in tatters on Monday after the men's team crashed out of Olympics and several key officials of Indian Hockey Federation stepped down, calling for a government takeover of the federation in order to save the game.
Angry hockey fans across the country raised a clamour for the resignation of Indian Hockey Federation chief KPS Gill, but the former supercop-turned-sports-administration stuck a defiant stand and refused to quit.
The Indian team's debacle at Santiago on Sunday was followed by a spate of resignations on Monday. Chief Hockey Coach Joaquim Carvalho stepped down along with his entire support staff, saying his failure to 'deliver result' prompted him to resign.
IHF Vice-President Narendra Batra followed suit and resigned on Monday, calling it a shocking failure. He begged the government to take over IHF to save the game.
"I have resigned in disappointment," Batra said after eight times Olympic champions India lost 0-2 to Britain in the final of Olympic qualifier and failed to qualify for the mega event for the first time in 80 years.
"The government should take over the association for the next 10 years and run it through former sportspersons and administrators to bring hockey back on track," Batra pleaded.
Asked if IHF president KPS Gill should share the blame and also resign, Batra said: "Morally, he should but he will not do so. He is stubborn."
This brought forth the rift within IHF after Batra revealed that Gill and IHF Secretary-General K Jyothikumaran were not even on talking terms for sometime now. "I know that Gill and Jyothikumaran are not talking to one another for six to seven months. Hockey is in a mess," he claimed.
Gill, however, remained unmoved, saying he would wait for the team to return before deciding the future course of action. Talking to CNN-IBN, he did admit that it was a setback for the game, but said IHF needs time to deliver results.
Asked to react to the demands for his resignation, the under-fire IHF chief said: "I will respond to these things at a later stage. We do not have an instant coffee machine that you can get results instantly. It takes time to regain your position. We have put the process in place and the results will take some time."
The IHF chief said he would have discussions with the chief coach Joaquim Carvalho and the other support staff to find out the exact reasons for the debacle before making any statements. "It is not proper to respond at this stage. We will wait for the team to return first, then we will have a clear idea what went wrong," he said.
REACTIONS:
The heartbroken hockey fraternity reacted with anger and demanded the immediate ouster of Indian Hockey Federation President KPS Gill.
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Reacting to the Indian team's unprecedented failure to make the cut for the Beijing Olympics, a disturbed Dhanraj Pillay, said it's high time the top brass of IHF was overhauled.
"How much you speak about it is not sufficient. We have created a bad piece of history. It's the worst day for Indian hockey. It's time to replace the top officials of the federation. IHF never tried to take the help of players like me who have played for the country so long," Pillay said.
Pillay said he could not sleep the whole night after witnessing the team slumping to ignominy. The four-time Olympian, however, said people who matter should look forward instead of criticising the players.
An irked Asian Games gold medallist goal-keeper AB Subaiah said not only Gill, but the whole setup has to go after the debacle.
"People who are asking for Gill's head should also realise that people like (IHF Secretary) K Jothikumaran and (Uttar Pradesh association official) J N Tyagi should also go," he said.
"It's very sad and unfortunate that we could not qualify for the Olympics," he said. Former Hockey Olympian Gurbux Singh termed India's ouster from the Olympics as the saddest day of Indian hockey.
Talking to UNI, Singh said, "It is the saddest day for Indian hockey. This is the first time in 80 years that we have not qualified for the Olympics. However, this is not a time for desperation. It is a time to regroup and plan."
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