BY IANS,
New Delhi: Hockey India (HI) officials and senior India players resolved the issues arising out of non-payment of sponsorship money, match fees and bonuses, after a marathon meeting here Saturday.
Hockey India president Ashok Kumar Mattoo said the players will go back to Pune and continue with their preparation for the World Cup.
The players had “boycotted” the ongoing national camp at Pune’s Balewadi complex Friday, protesting against the non-payment of their dues.
“All issues have been resolved. It was a meaningful dialogue and the players will continue with their training for the World Cup from tomorrow (Sunday),” Mattoo told reporters after a marathon meeting, that lasted close to four hours, with six Indian players and national coach Harendra Singh.
Asked what exactly has been the understanding between the two parties regarding the clearance of the dues, Mattoo said: “Its between us. We are targeting a podium finish in World Cup and financial matters will not come in between. I am confident that the team will perform well in the World Cup.”
The players – captain Rajpal Singh, Sandeep Singh, Sardara Singh, Tushar Khandekar, Prabhjot Singh and Arjun Halappa – had flown down from Pune Saturday afternoon.
Rajpal said that they were happy with the outcome of the meeting.
“Our job is to play and their (HI) job is to look after the rest of the things. We are satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. Its good that we came here and had a frank discussion to sort out the issues,” Rajpal said.
“We will continue with our training from tomorrow (Sunday),” he said.
The national players were protesting against the non-payment of sponsorship money for any of the matches they played since the formation of ad-hoc hockey body.
HI and Sahara India Pariwar were involved in a sponsorship row which has been settled only two months ago, but the players had not received any sponsorship money.
Players had also asked for a bonus for their bronze-medal finish in the Champions Challenge tournament in Argentina in December.