BANGALORE: The Indian Hockey Federation has decided to postpone its cash-rich World Series Hockey tournament to avoid all possible controversies and allow the Indian players to concentrate on the preparations for the Olympic qualifiers.
“The Olympic qualifiers are scheduled from February 16 to February 25 in Delhi. After much thought, we have decided to postpone the WSH tournament and it will start from February 29 after the Olympic qualifiers, under the same format. We did not want to put the national players into an embarrassment. They have to concentrate on the qualifiers despite the fact that they have signed contracts with us. Some of the players spoke to me as well and we thought this was the best solution in the circumstances,” RK Shetty, the IHF president who completes a year in office on Dec 20, said from Delhi.
“The event was to start on December 17 but with several Indian players pulling out to join the national camp for the Olympic qualifiers which began in Bangalore, we felt it would be ideal to permit them to focus on the main target of qualifying for the London Olympics,” Shetty added.
“We have been able to convince Nimbus to postpone the tournament though it was a very difficult decision for them. They have incurred huge losses. They have slotted prime time for the telecast of the matches on their Neo Channel and they have spent huge amount on other logistics.”
“We also had to convince the franchises about the postponement. Some franchises including Chennai Cheetahs were to start training from Monday. Now they have to cancel it for a later date. So it was a difficult thing to convince the franchises and Nimbus to the decision. But we do not want to put any problem to the national players. That was the only reason,” Shetty added.
“The WSH did not require the FIH’s clearance as it is a domestic tournament. Hockey India had deliberately changed the dates of the camp to prevent players from playing. They had also warned the players of action should they take part. By postponing it, we have avoided all sorts of controversies,” Shetty said.
“Who knows what will happen in the qualifiers. I sincerely hope India makes it. We also did not want to take any share of the blame if, God forbid, India eventually fails to qualify,” Shetty said.
“Players from some countries like Spain and Pakistan had stated that they would come and play no matter what happens. Had we gone through it, it would have become a major issue as the FIH also played its part in giving misleading statements,” he felt.
“All the top players, Indians included, have signed contracts with us though they have withdrawn from the event under threat in South Africa where they played Champions Challenge. They will come back and play in WSH after the qualifiers. There is no doubt about that,” Shetty said. “It is a multi-crore event and we will lose a lot financially. But then, to avoid all sorts of complications, we thought it best to postpone it,” he added.