Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra, who also heads the International Hockey Federation, termed the performance of the Indian men’s hockey team in recent tournaments as “unacceptable” and asked the national federation to explain the reasons behind it.
In a strong word to Hockey India President Gyanandro Ningombam, Batra said he has serious concerns about the team’s performance after the historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
He also indicated that the team was being mismanaged, but did not explain how.
“I am deeply concerned about the way the Indian men’s hockey team has performed after the Tokyo bronze medal. In Bangladesh and now in South Africa. Blaming the players… is not the final and only truth for me,” Batra said in the message, which also marked HI general secretary Rajinder Singh and CEO Elena Norman.
The Indian team has been inconsistent since creating history at the Tokyo Games in August last year, where it won a bronze medal – a first at the Olympics in 41 years.
The team could not defend the Asian Champions Trophy title in December and then lost to lower-ranked France in an FIH Pro League match in South Africa last week.
“My observations are much more than that. I want to have your views. The way the team is performing is not acceptable at all and please see where are the problems at all levels,” Batra said.
Batra wrote a letter to Hockey India as IOA chief.
“I will not accept Team India for being mismanaged and mismanaged, this kind of incompetence has to give way. Please meet me at the earliest with your findings,” he said.
Of the four Pro League matches in South Africa this month, India won three and lost one. The team defeated South Africa twice with the same 10-2 score.
But after beating the same team 5-0 in the first match on the tour, a 2-5 loss to France in the second leg on Saturday could have raised concerns for Batra.
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