It was a day filled with suspense and speculation as Hockey India president AK Mattoo rushed to the Balewadi Sports Complex here for a one-on-one session with the players, coaches and support staff.
The meeting, which was “just a casual interaction” according to officials, went on for five hours at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex on Thursday. The national team is in news for the wrong reasons after DNA reported the rift between senior players and chief coach Jose Brasa. Mattoo said there was no controversy or revolt in the team.
The most shocking part about the whole meeting was that Mattoo refused to acknowledge Rajpal Singh as the skipper of the side. Brasa had last week appointed Rajpal as skipper.
Mattoo said, “I still haven’t received the list of the players so we can’t say that Sandeep is not the captain. He is very much in the team, unless he is physically unfit. The team has not left yet for Argentina (Champions Challenge).”
About the meeting, the president said, “It was a long meeting, but at the end of the day, I am satisfied with the meetings I had with the players, coaches and support staff. I am happy that I came and spoke to them directly instead of writing to them or speaking to them over the phone,” the HI chief said.
Earlier on Thursday, chief coach Jose Brasa said that there is someone, who is trying to break the unity of the team. “There is someone who is trying to cut the grass under our feet. Someone is trying to sabotage the team. There is no problem with the players at all,” said Brasa.
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