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BAD DREAM: Australia hockey legend Ric Charlesworth at the Olympic Green Hockey Stadium in Beijing yesterday. |
The five-time Olympian from Australia quit his post as technical advisor prematurely claiming that the Sports Authority of India had failed to offer him a detailed contract and even held over his dues during his eight-month long stay in the country (he came to India in 2007, December and quit last month).
But he returned home only to more disappointment. "I quit my well-settled job with New Zealand Cricket (as high-performance manager) to come to India at the behest of the International Hockey Federation (FIH). I understood that it would be a long-term commitment.
I gave off my house in Perth on a long lease and moved to India (Chandigarh) with my family (wife and two sons). So, when I went back, I had no place to live. I had to actually rent out a house for myself and my family. This has really hurt me," explained Charlesworth, who is keenly observing the hockey competition here in Beijing.
Charlesworth claimed the Sports Authority of India (SAI) operate in a manner that can never benefit Indian hockey.
Unpaid dues
"I have spent USD 30,000 from my pocket on various things that were directly associated with my job in India.
Besides, there is an outstanding of USD 20,000 in remuneration that SAI owe me. This is unbearable," said Charlesworth, who in 1978, earned the distinction of being declared the world's best hockey player, besides having coached the Australian women's hockey team to four Champions Trophy titles (1993, 1995, 1997, 1999), two World Cup titles (1994, 1998), two Olympic titles (1996, 2000) and the Commonwealth title (1998). "I asked for simple things like a translator, so that players can understand me and vice versa.
I asked for autonomy in team selection. I asked to take foreign players abroad to watch and play with top European teams. We have so many India players, who have not played against the world's top hockey teams like Holland, Germany, etc. But the government seems least bothered about all this, then why should I be," he asked.
Bleak future
The future of Indian hockey is very bleak, believed Charlesworth. "I don't blame the players because they are victims of the system but India is nowhere among the top six hockey playing nations of the world, and can only be slipping," he predicted.
