Dhanraj Pillay blasts FIH for interfering

On the eve of the inaugral edition of World Series Hockey, Dhanraj Pillay, former India hockey captain slammed the International Hockey Federation for interfering in the lucrative league and accused both FIH and Hockey India of playing dirty politics.

“It is disappointing that even FIH is interfering in a domestic league. The negative reports have really marred the build up to the league. When WSH was postponed it was done because these players will be made available,” stated the Olympian.

FIH chief Leonardo Negre has been maintaining that it cannot give sanction to the WSH until the two warring faction reach an agreement. This reminds one of the battle between organisers of Indian Cricket League (ICL) and the BCCI who launched the Indian Premier League. It’s only because the ambiguous stand that FIH has taken which has left the players confused on whether or not to play WSH. “HI should not have raised any objection for WSH since it will provide a platform for young players. When the sports ministry has also told the HI to release players after the qualifiers for WSH, what is the problem?” blasted Dhanraj.

Pillay said both HI and FIH are playing “dirty” politics and spoiling the prospects of improving and making hockey competitive. “Are they really concerned of improving the standard of players and the game?” he asked.

Top Indian players reportedly deciding to stay away from WSH, Pillay said they should have known about their availability for the tournament before signing the agreement. “It is disappointing that hardly 25 to 30 players have made themselves available for WSH,” Pillay said. “In my entire career I haven’t seen hockey players being signed for a big amount like 15-20 lakhs. In the tussle between two federations, I think players are at loss,” he expressed.