Hockey players miffed at 'Chuck De India'
Irked by the step-motherly treatment meted out to the Indian hockey players by the central and four state govts, the team members have decided to go on a hunger strike.
By PTI |
CHENNAI: The cash and other rewards showered on India’s World Cup winning cricketers on Wednesday sparked off an unprecedented protest from the nation’s top hockey players who decided to go on hunger strike, saying that they have been ignored after bringing the Asia Cup.
On a day when the triumphant Indian cricket team’s homecoming took the spotlight, hockey players lashed out at the Centre and the state governments of Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Karnataka for showering rewards on the cricketers while ignoring the achievement of the hockey team.
Some of the top hockey players said it was a "step-motherly" treatment meted out to them. Fuming at the publicity stunts by the politicians in announcing cash awards and other benefits for the cricketers, a peeved national coach Joaquim Carvalho said, "Why our hockey players, who won the Asia Cup, are being treated like orphans and why our politicians are biased against hockey?"
On a day when the triumphant Indian cricket team’s homecoming took the spotlight, hockey players lashed out at the Centre and the state governments of Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Karnataka for showering rewards on the cricketers while ignoring the achievement of the hockey team.
Some of the top hockey players said it was a "step-motherly" treatment meted out to them. Fuming at the publicity stunts by the politicians in announcing cash awards and other benefits for the cricketers, a peeved national coach Joaquim Carvalho said, "Why our hockey players, who won the Asia Cup, are being treated like orphans and why our politicians are biased against hockey?"
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Carvalho said apart from four players, a coach and a team manager would go on hunger strike before Karnataka Chief Minister’s house to protest the announcement of Rs 5 lakh cash award each for the cricketers, while "treating the hockey players like dust".
"Coach Ramesh Parameswaran, manager R K Shetty and four players (Vikram Kanth, V Raghunath, SV Sunil and Ignace Tirkey) are to go on hunger strike." Carvalho also criticised Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel’s decision to give cash awards and out-of-turn promotion to cricketers in Air India and Indian Airlines, while hockey players in their payroll received nothing.
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