Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty is furious with the way Indian hockey is being run and he wants Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to save the sport.
Says Suniel: “Only he, with his initiative and youth power, can rescue hockey from the doldrums. Otherwise the game is doomed.” He intends to put forward an appeal to Rahul Gandhi on behalf of Indian Hockey Federation urging him to bring an impetus and sense of direction to the game.
The immediate provocation for Suneil's ire was the fiasco that took place in Chandigarh on Saturday that was touted as being the ultimate teaser before next week's World Cup.
It ended up being a damp squib when Bollywood representatives who were supposed to attend it were asked to stay away by the organisers.
Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby Deol, who were shooting in Patiala and were expected to attend, cancelled at the last minute.
Protests Suniel Shetty, who champions the national sport, “It was not Dharamji's fault. He was all set to travel from Patiala to Chandigarh when the organisers informed him not to come because of the chaos over the money the hockey players allegedly demanded. I was also told not to come. But I didn't listen. And I'm glad I went. There were 30,000 expectant people at the stadium in Chandigarh.”
Saturday's fiasco, where national hockey players apparently asked for Rs 5 crore at the 11th hour to play at the event, has not left Suniel disillusioned.
“I don't know what happened between the event's organisers and our boys. If they really asked for the money then they shouldn't have. But think of it from their point of view. Hockey players are still underpaid. They're under so much pressure from their families to give up hockey and do something more paying. How long can they withstand the financial pressure? We keep forgetting we have a Hockey World Cup coming up next week and we cannot allow our players to be demoralised,” he added.
