ALL GREEK: Dhanraj may miss Athens

For the last seven months, IHF chief KPS Gill has avoided a direct reply on the Dhanraj issue. Like so many times earlier Gill today, while announcing the two set of teams minus Dhanraj, said ‘‘I will not comment on the selection of individual players in the team.’’ IHF secretary K Jothikumaran told The Indian Express that ‘‘preference of the coach and fitness are the criterias for selecting players.’’ Whereas, coach Rajinder Singh told PTI that he is yet to take a decision:‘‘I cannot comment on Dhanraj at the moment’’.

A ray of hope for Dhanraj and his fans was the cryptic comment by Gill where he said, ‘‘we may consider making some changes and include one or two more players from outside the 30.’’ So does this mean that IHF is planning to keep the 36-year-old veteran fresh for the Olympics? After playing for 15 years Dhanraj can afford to miss a camp or a preparatory tournament at this stage of his career. Take for example Pakistan’s Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans’ ploy to ask veteran forward Mohammed Sarwar to be part of the team at the Olympic qualifiers at Madrid without being in the preparatory camp. In case the IHF has such noble intentions then they haven’t hinted at that.

The lack of clarity from the IHF has meant speculations and unsettling of players. As Dhanraj said today, ‘‘I refuse to comment of this issue.’’

Not just on the issue of team selection, the IHF sent confusing signals on the Tejbir Singh doping issue. Days after the player himself admitted last week that he had tested positive, Gill told reporters that ‘‘no player has ever been found using performance enhancing drugs.’’

Interestingly the player, who was part of the first 16 for the Olympic qualification tournament at Madrid in March, fails to find place in the two teams announced today. Tejbir was sent home without playing a game, so his form wasn’t tested. In that case why was he dropped? That’s another question with no clear answer.

With the game growing in stature in the last couple of years and the public interest returning to hockey, the IHF needs to be change its ways. Accountability and clarity of vision would go a long way in sustaining its new found popularity.