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Hockey coaches still hopeful of a solution
No solution is in sight to the ongoing player-administrator tug-of-war plaguing Indian hockey but chief coach Jose Brasa and his deputy Harendra Singh are still
Pune:
No solution is in sight to the ongoing player-administrator tug-of-war plaguing Indian hockey but chief coach Jose Brasa and his deputy Harendra Singh are still hopeful of an amicable solution.
Saddened by the stand-off, Brasa said it was unfortunate that such an episode unfolded when the World Cup was just six weeks away but hoped both sides would bury the hatchet soon and reach a solution.
"I am very sad at what has happened. I thought they will come out with a solution today but unfortunately they didn't," a dejected Brasa told PTI from Pune.
"Having said that, it is not my issue but I feel India is a strong country and the people concerned with the issue will soon come out with a solution," the Spaniard said.
The fresh round of talks between Hockey India officials and the protesting players, who are boycotting the World Cup preparatory camp in protest against non-payment of their dues, failed for the second time with the federation threatening to field a B team if they don't rejoin the camp.
The development has cast a shadow over India's prospects in the February 28-March 13 mega event to be held here and Brasa too admitted that the sooner the issue was resolved, the better it was for India.
"As of now we are not training today, which is bad for India's prospects in the World Cup. I am a coach and my job is to train whatever player I have," said the chief coach.
National coach Harendra Singh was also upset with the development and he appealed to the striking players to resume training for the sake of the country.
"I am very upset today. I am deeply hurt with the outcome of the meeting. I have trained these boys for so long and now if they cannot play in the World Cup, it would be very sad," he said.
"But I am still hopeful everything will be alright. I am requesting the boys to leave aside all these things and not to stop training," Harendra said.
"The strike has undoubtedly hampered our preparations to a great extent and if we want to finish in the podium it has to end immediately," he added.
Saddened by the stand-off, Brasa said it was unfortunate that such an episode unfolded when the World Cup was just six weeks away but hoped both sides would bury the hatchet soon and reach a solution.
"I am very sad at what has happened. I thought they will come out with a solution today but unfortunately they didn't," a dejected Brasa told PTI from Pune.
"Having said that, it is not my issue but I feel India is a strong country and the people concerned with the issue will soon come out with a solution," the Spaniard said.
The fresh round of talks between Hockey India officials and the protesting players, who are boycotting the World Cup preparatory camp in protest against non-payment of their dues, failed for the second time with the federation threatening to field a B team if they don't rejoin the camp.
The development has cast a shadow over India's prospects in the February 28-March 13 mega event to be held here and Brasa too admitted that the sooner the issue was resolved, the better it was for India.
"As of now we are not training today, which is bad for India's prospects in the World Cup. I am a coach and my job is to train whatever player I have," said the chief coach.
National coach Harendra Singh was also upset with the development and he appealed to the striking players to resume training for the sake of the country.
"I am very upset today. I am deeply hurt with the outcome of the meeting. I have trained these boys for so long and now if they cannot play in the World Cup, it would be very sad," he said.
"But I am still hopeful everything will be alright. I am requesting the boys to leave aside all these things and not to stop training," Harendra said.
"The strike has undoubtedly hampered our preparations to a great extent and if we want to finish in the podium it has to end immediately," he added.
Topics mentioned in this article
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