Re: Sandeep, Sardara appeal for a pardon

yes, the final say is with nobbs. i am always on the side of the players but rank indiscipline shouild never be tolerated. also, this young team seems to work well together. they have great heart. if nobbs thinks they are the players he wants, so be it.

i read about walmiki and his really humble origins. i would never think he is unpatriotic if he leaves for canada or some such country and plays for the national team. in the process, he will automatically give his family an 'upper class' indian life too.

reality is much more sordid than tv shows.

i feel that if the indian hockey team wins any tournament they should be given rs.5 lakh each. at least.

whats the point of playing for your country if there is no money, no honour and no visibility?? what are you playing for then????

why have this website if no one read it or reacts to it??

Jai Hind!

Re: Sandeep, Sardara appeal for a pardon

Sardara & Sandeep thought that team will not do good without them but the youngsters prove them wrong. Now both of them understand that these youngsters with little more work and experience will take thier place in the team. Now they are worried. I think Coach should let them know his expectations and about their attitude towards the youngsters. They should not be given any special treatment. If both of them doesn't undersatnds the meaning of team work, pride and attitude towards the team than both of them should stay out. Both of them should appologise to the team for what they have done. We don't want to keep the seniors who have egos problem. Do not bring the egos to the field. Do not select the seniors because of past glories. Do not just hand out the place to anyone in the team. Let them fight for the spot and work hard just like others. Coaches should make decison on selection not the committee. All the seniors should keep in mind that there is no " I " in team sports. You just can't be living on the past glory and thinking you will be automatically picked up in the team. Sardara is a great player but he needs to work on his attitude, be a team player and have pride in representing the country. Treat all the teammates with respect. Play with the team. You win as a team and loose as a team. Hopefully both of them learned their lesson and will not let this happen again. If this happen again then they should be banned permanently. Make sure commitee should let them know the consequences for not following the rules and standards.

Re: Sandeep, Sardara appeal for a pardon

sundeep, pls call me on 9821676759 when you come to bombay. am generally free in the evenings. pls call and tell me how you are placed and where in mumbai..very important considering the distances and time taken in commutes.

you could also send me your version of the blueprint. i will add what i can and then you can put it up on the site.

my email id is rajenmenen@hotmail.com

Jai Hind

Re: Sandeep, Sardara appeal for a pardon

Hi,
I just pray that this winning spree continues after a long time. I feel we have a foreign coach who might fit into the Indian system (his attitude of not speaking to press too much or just concentrating on game). As far as these players (Sardara & Sandeep), I feel if they add value to the Indian team (which I feel they surely will) then they should be taken back with the coach's approval off course. The win of the Indian team would sober them down if they were having some attitude. Let us just pray for Indian hockey as when ever there is a good news it is followed by some bad news (though this time also we lost hosting rights for Champion's Trophy) but any way hope all goes well !!! BTW we are proud of our team !!!

Re: Sandeep, Sardara appeal for a pardon

Sardara is the best midfielder and Sandeep is the best dragflicker in the world. Both are young, both of them have won so many matches for India in the past. I think they should be given one last chance to come back to the Indian team. They could play an importent role in Olympic Qualifiers. In Asian Champions Trophy, our penalty corner conversion was very bad and all other teams were playing without their key players. Qualifing for Olympics is like winning the Olympic medal this time for Indian team because we missed the last Olympics, if we miss this Olympic it will be very bad for hockey in our country. As we know countries like Spain, Korea, Malyasia, Argentina, Japan, China, New Zealand and Canada are very strong teams and they are playing in the Olympic Qualifiers considering that we need experienced and a strong side to face them. Considering that they should be included in the team. If they have any problem with the coaching staff or any other member of team they should sit down with HI and sort out the issue because country comes first and it is pride to play for your country.

Re: Sandeep, Sardara appeal for a pardon

I feel that Sandeep and Sardara should be banned for 2 years. Indiscipline cannot and should not be tolerated. It is quite possible that these 2 experienced and senior players did not wish to be part of a losing team ( nobody gave our young team a chance ) and opted out. And if we had done badly, they would have argued that they were indispensable for the team. After our win they are looking a bit silly.
Sardara is a class player, however the same cannot be said of Sandeep whose p c conversions sometimes border on the mediocre and is suspect as a defender against top teams.
And, any guarantees that they wouldn't pull this stunt again ?
Retain this bunch under Nobbs and let us hope for the best.
Cheers everyone.

Re: Sandeep, Sardara appeal for a pardon

Sundeep, I agree with you. There is another side of the story. Both HI and IHF are dirty. Both of them trying to put each other down. It's shame that they are using players to play the dirty politics. One of the group did used both of these players and Sardara and Sandeep fall in that trap. Sundeep, politics has been always there and will be there. Players job is to play. Corruption is so deep that I don't think anyone can fix this even the govenment. Look at Sports ministry, SAI, HI & IHF. All are jokes. They rather not give the money to players but they are milking the heavy salaries. Players have no shoes but these people on the top continiously taking salaries. Sundeep, only people can bring changes. Someone needs to stand up against these bearucrats. Someone need to think about the nation. Thanks Sunddep.

Re: Sandeep, Sardara appeal for a pardon

I fully endorse Raj and Ekam's view. We should not sit in judgment without knowing what actually transpired. Why did the two leave? And guys, stop doubting their "patriotism". You do not reach international status in hockey, especially in India, without having a very high level of motivation to play for the country. They are not the best in the world by a long shot, but Sardara is a very difficult customer to get past. He is a great asset. The team needs them. If India has to have any hope of qualifying in Feb 2012, then the team has to start playing several scores of international matches as a team. And we are still griping about the team composition. India has to play the qualifiers in India, that is a must. Or we don't qualify. The Asian Champions win was a great achievement, but don't be fooled, the qualifiers are probably the toughest tournaments, especially they way they are structured now. The winner takes it all. So Sardara and Sandeep need to be back, not to mention Khandekar and Shivindra. Also, don't forget the dimunitive giant - Bharat Chikara. The guy just plays his heart out every time.

Re: Sandeep, Sardara appeal for a pardon

Indian sport is a joke. We have close to 1,300 million people and will soon be the most populous country on earth. Remember, we are closing in on China and they have a much larger land mass. The entire planet's population is 7 billion and Indian and China including the Diaspora make half the world in numbers.

With a population of this size we need to have at least 200 Olympic medals ---at least!!! China rules the world of sport. The domination of Eastern Europe and the USA are over.

Why am I saying all this and how is it relevant to hockey?

We talk of corruption in hockey. But corruption and lack of planning haunt India in every walk of life. I ordered a book of mine on Amazon and the postman asked for a bribe to deliver it to me! As we all know, any effort to stem corrutption is being met with a mailed fist.

Corruption eats every sport. Hockey is just another sport. With our huge population we should have at least 500 players vying for positions in the national team and we should win every tournament on the trot thrashing every other country in the process by half a dozen goals. Not trying to qualify for the Olympics...its so embarrassing.

We have more young people in India than the entire population of Europe and double the entire population of the USA. And here we are trying to scratch out 17 players...amazing!!!!!

Ireland and New Zealand are less populated than the suburbs of our big cities. Australia has as many people as Mumbai has. When they beat us I really want to cry. There are no people in Europe, for example, and it is cold all the time or raining. How can they beat us??? it is another miracle and a tribute to our uselessness as administrators without planning and foresight and living off graft all the time.

The politicians should realise that sport will save India. if you have 700 million young people with nothing to do there will be social unrest. There will be chaos. Start building sports facilities and use that energy and frustration. Slowly, we will start getting medals and become a healthier and more focused society.

China and India were at the same economic level in 1950. Look at where they are now -- sport has definitely contributed to their success and self image on the world stage.

Nothing succeeds like success. Just imagine India as Olympic and World champs in hockey -- imagine the revolution that can take place!! Why should this ancient country be known only for films, cricket (hardly 7 countries play the game) and poverty??

Jai Hind!

Re: Sandeep, Sardara appeal for a pardon

Forgive Sandeep and Sardara and leave every decison on chief coach. Last time also we missed Sandeep in Olympic Qualifying. Need of the hour is Olympic Qualifying. Govt should declare handsome reward for Olympic qualifying and fedration should start work for sub jr and women hockey. At present there is no care for grassroot hockey and women hockey.