0
NEW DELHI: Hopes of unifying India's two warring hockey bodies suffered a setback on Friday after some players were enticed away from a national team camp to attend a promotional event for the rival body.
Officials of Hockey India, which is the internationally recognized body, were fuming when five top players left the camp in Bangalore to attend the event for the city-based World Series Hockey, which is being planned by the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) in partnership with private company Nimbus Sports.
The IHF lost official recognition in 2008 following bribery allegations and was replaced by Hockey India, but the IHF was revived by an Indian court order last year.
India's sports ministry is set to meet the two warring bodies on Monday in a last bid to unite them.
HI's secretary-general Narinder Batra said the promotional event could have been held during an upcoming one-week break in the camp.
Five India players _ Sandeep Singh, Adrian D'Souza, Arjun Halappa, Prabhjot Singh and Sardar Singh _ attended the function in Mumbai on Thursday for the tournament planned to be held from December 15 to January 22.
Judging by HI's reaction, their future at the highest level of the sport was in peril.
“This is indiscipline and highly condemnable,” said former India captain Pargat Singh, who heads HI's disciplinary committee that will look into the episode.
“No player is bigger than the nation. We need to say thank you for your services, please leave,” Singh was quoted as saying by Friday's The Times of India.
The IHF, which had announced the launching of the league earlier this year, claims to have signed 176 players from different countries for the tournament, which will follow the model of cricket's successful Indian Premier League.
The event has not been sanctioned by world governing body FIH, which is also planning its own league in partnership with HI.
