New Delhi, nov 04
Former India hockey captain Sardar Singh has said that that former coach Sjoerd Marijne and current high performance director David John forced him into retirement in September.
The veteran singled out an incident which took place last year during India’s triumphant campaign in the Asia Cup in Dhaka, where he was called to John’s room in the presence of Marijne.
“I was called to his (David John’s) room just before the match against Pakistan in Asia Cup. The coach (Marijne) was also there. He (John) said I committed mistakes and I was playing a lot of individual game,” Sardar said. “Just before an important match I was called to tell (me) this. You could imagine how I was feeling, he could have told me later.”
Asian Games debacle
After the Asian Games ended in September, Sardar was not named in the list of the probables for the Asian Champions Trophy in Oman, forcing him to think about his future.“I was dropped from important tournaments, the World Hockey League and Commonwealth Games. I thought I will be brought back, I was sent with a junior team in Malaysia,” he said. “I slowly began questioning myself, what is going on. After Asian Games, I was thinking of continuing till the 2020 Olympics. I was very fit, one of the fittest in the team. But then I decided to quit (after being dropped again).”
Sardar also said that he was not told the reasons each time he was left out. “There was a lot of change of players. It is all right if you change 2-3 players but you are making so many changes before important tournaments,” the star midfielder said. “Moreover, you have to tell the reasons to the players. Sadly, it was not done.”
Writing on the wall
He mentioned an incident in the national camp in Bengaluru. “The news of the team selection was told at the breakfast. We were told that the team list was pasted in front of rooms and those who are in should proceed to the field and those who are not will be told the reasons later,” he said. “My name was not there, I did not go for team practice.”
Incidentally, after he announced his retirement in September, he had said: “I wanted to continue and I feel I had some more years of hockey left in me but I just couldn’t digest the loss to Malaysia. I couldn’t sleep for days after that loss. That was the trigger.” He was referring to India’s loss in the Asian Games semifinals.
