Hockey India's CWG pullout irks India sports minister

INDIAN sports minister on Sunday (10) slammed Hockey India over its unilateral decision to pull out of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) set to be held in Birmingham, the UK, saying the sporting body must consult the government before taking such steps.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Thakur said, “I think any federation should refrain from giving such statements and discuss with the government first because it’s just not federation’s team, its national team.”

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“In a country of 130 crore population, there are not just 18 players to represent the country. It (CWG) is a global event I feel that they (Hockey India) should engage with the government and the concerned department. The decision will be taken by the government.”

The minister’s strong words came after Hockey India decided earlier this week to pull its men’s and women’s teams out of the 2022 CWG, citing Covid-19 vaccines and the UK’s allegedly discriminatory quarantine rules for travellers from India. The UK has now withdrawn the rule which sparked a diplomatic row with India.

The body also said that there is only a 32-day window available between the CWG (July 28-August 8) and the Hangzhou Asian Games (September 10-25) and the focus was more on the latter since it is a direct qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Indian hockey has received a fresh impetus after the impressive results in the Tokyo Olympics held this year. While the men’s team won a medal in the showpiece event after 41 years, the women’s team narrowly lost a medal and finished fourth, also after 41 years.

Thakur was not convinced with the reasoning. He said there is no dearth of hockey talent in India and playing back-to-back tournaments was nothing new for professional sportspersons.

“There is no shortage of talent in hockey in India. If you see cricket, the IPL is going on and then there is the World Cup. If cricketers can play two tournaments back-to-back, then why can’t players from other sports?” Thakur, who has also been a cricket administrator and was also the president of the Indian cricket board, asked.

“I can understand Asian Games is being prioritised and I am not going into this, I am just saying [prerogative to decide] where the Indian team will be playing just doesn’t lie with the federation, it lies with the government also,” he added.

The diplomatic row over Covid-19 vaccination entered the hockey arena when India confirmed pulling out its teams from the CWG a day after England withdrew from the Junior World Cup which is set to be held in Bhubaneswar in the Indian state of Odisha next month. Both sides cited the mandatory 10-day quarantine imposed on travellers from other countries by their respective governments as a key reason for the decision.

Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra last week wrote to Hockey India chief Gyanendro Ningombam cited the “discriminatory restrictions” that are “biased against India” as an additional reason to pull out of the Birmingham tournament. The announcement came barely a couple of hours after the government said in a media release that the men’s team was “likely to participate” in the tournament.