Bhaichung hits back at critics

Bhaichung Bhutia hit back at the critics,who while questioning his fitness at the Asian Cup,had cast aspersions at his integrity.

Bhaichung Bhutia on Monday hit back at the critics,who while questioning his fitness at the Asian Cup,had cast aspersions at his integrity.

Just flip through my record. It speaks volumes of my commitment. I neednt say more. I dont say somebody is good or bad. Thats their viewpoint. Maybe,they said all these things out of jealousy, an emotional Bhutia said at the East Bengal Club tent here.

Bhutia feels that Indias performance at Doha was mediocre. You look at the team statistics. Fitness-wise we did well. On an average,we ran more than Australia and South Korea. There was discipline in the side,we had a strategy. We score more than Saudi Arabia who have been Asian Cup winners, he explained. India conceded 13 goals in three matches and knocked out at the group stage.

Bhutia,however,said that it was a fair result considering the fact that India had only seven months to prepare. There is talk that Rs 13 crores have been spent on our preparation for the last seven months. But thats not a big amount at this level. It happens everywhere. The clubs in Europe spend huge money and they dont shut down if they did not win a title.