05 December 2004	Sunday	22 Shawwal 1425

LAHORE, Dec 4: Indian hockey coach Gerhard Rach on Saturday vented his anger over decisions against his side, saying it had cost his side heavily but refrained from commenting on the standard of umpiring.

"All I can say is that it was a goal by our player in the second half which the umpire (Ged Curran) disallowed. It is incomprehensible why he disallowed the goal," the coach said.

Rach, a German who had joined the Indian squad weeks before Athens Olympics, was also fuming over Curran's decision of not allowing a penalty corner even after consulting his colleague Jordi Oliva, although the Indian players protested strongly.

"Everybody saw that it was a short corner. But then again the umpire refused to award the penalty corner. But I don't want to say anything on this kind of umpiring," he said.

Rach again refused to comment when asked whether absence of veterans like Dhanraj Pillay and Jugraj Singh affected the team.

"I do not want to comment on these type of questions. Can Dhanraj Pillay win matches like the one we played against Spain today," he questioned instead.

"All I can say is that today's defeat is a big disappointment but like other outfits we are also eying on World Cup and Champions Trophy is a part of preparations," he said.