New Delhi:
The Indian hockey team is currently training in Pune for the Champions Challenge in Argentina next month. But its Spanish coach, Jose Brasa, seems to be embroiled in a controversy after reports suggested that the players are extremely unhappy with his training methods and attitude.
It was also reported that five players didn't show up for the camp because of Brasa's behaviour.
But Brasa has denied these allegations. Speaking to NDTV's Suprita Das he said: "I don't think the allegations are against me personally because the players are training very well. I don't think the players are unhappy because of the training since they come for training every day and I haven't received that feedback from anybody. We will talk to the players on Thursday."
Apparently Brasa has his favourites, and his tough training methods have not gone down too well with the players, including former captain Sandeep Singh. But the coach has denied reports about his statement that Sandeep would be out of next year's World Cup in Delhi.
"I never said he's not going to play the World Cup. I said I don't know whether he'll play with his injury. His injury is in the hands of the doctors. He has been complaining of pain in the back, which is not good for a drag flicker as they use the back and the spinal cord. If he has an injury in the spinal cord then he has to stop being the drag flicker in the team because the doctors wont allow it. Therefore, its difficult to say if he'll play or not."
Speaking about how Hockey India functions, Brasa said, "The only thing I know is that Hockey India should have more people working because we need much more help from them which we aren't getting. I think the most important thing has to be done with the organisation. The organistaion in general is the worse that I have found in India. Everything is going very slow. And any material required for training is almost impossible to get," he said.
But clearly these problems with coaches and administrators is a big setback for the game itself, which is trying to come back to the big scene after a disastrous last year.