Click to play videoNew Delhi: The newly constituted selection committee of Indian men's hockey team say it will look at players who were sidelined by the KPS Gill regime. But Gill, who was sacked and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) suspended by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Monday, is not going down without a fight saying says he will strike back.
Indian hockey team's Technical Director Ric Charlesworth usually basks in the limelight but for he got a breather and the spotlight instead was on chief selector Aslam Sher Khan and his team.
This was the first selection committee meet after the IHF was suspended and the message was clear.
"I think transparency is most important factor of the selection. I think there is a gist of the team confidence, level and team performance. If anybody is selected out of the blue, it hurts the team," Aslam Sher Khan, selection committee chairman, says.
For selectors like former captain Zafar Iqbal this is a huge responsibility. The immediate task is to choose the Indian team for the Azlan Shah tournament in May.
There is also talk about a new coach but the selectors know that Indian hockey needs more than shock treatment at the moment.
"There should be some activity at the grassroot level. Why is hockey is dying? Because of this only," says Zafar.
But even as they chart the course for the future; the past doesn't seem to want to go away quietly.
Gill has vowed to strike back.
In an interview to a Mumbai newspaper he said, "I will make a move when the time is ripe to strike. The IOA took this decision without any foresight. I had some plans but as of now I will not exchange anything with them. Jothikumaran will pay for what he has done. But most importantly this has given my opponents an excuse to attack me."
It is not going to be an easy task for the new selection committee to left Indian hockey out of the depths it has plunged to. But by talking about transparency in selection matters, they have ensured that at least they start out on the right foot.
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