his edition's Photo of the
Month is dedicated to India's 1998 Asian Games gold medal winning team. It is especially
dedicated to the six stalwarts who were dropped from the Indian team for the Indo-Pak
series.
In a high-handed statement, K. P. S. Gill said he was under no obligation to explain to those rested the reasons behind such a decision. "Those having any grievances can go to the media and air them," he said, adding, "it is the federation's prerogative to select a team which it thought was the best for the country."
In bureaucratic terms, they have been rested. But as Cedric D'Souza pointed out, "Ashish Ballal and Sandeep Somesh have just rejoined the squad for the Asian games and do not require to be rested immediately."
The last time the IHF sacked senior players was in July 1997. At that time, Dhanraj Pillai, Mukesh Kumar, A. B. Subbaiah and Ashish Ballal were dropped for the 4-nation Panasonic Cup in Hamburg that August. In a disastrous debut for coach Pargat Singh, India finished last losing 0-3, 1-6 and 0-6 to Germany, Holland and Australia respectively.
Photograph Courtesy - India Today Magazine