Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Ghost Hockey Team making Mockery of National Game in Andaman

Source:http://www.andamansheekha.com/2013/06/03/ghost-hockey-team-making-mockery-of-national-game-in-andaman/

E Arun & Tarun Kartick

Port Blair, Jun 3: In a shocking revelation Andaman Sheekha had published a news on 1st June 2013 highlighting how a Ghost Team of Andamans participated in Senior Men’s National Championship in Pune recently, about which the Andaman and Nicobar Administration has no clue.

Further investigation carried out by Andaman Sheekha has revealed that the Ghost team, which represented Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the said Championship was picked up from Bangaluru and most the players were from some Engineering college.

The investigation further revealed that in that team only four players were from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, while others were Mainlanders. A journalist from Indian Express, who is carrying out a detailed investigation in this issue told Andaman Sheekha that the team management of the Ghost team is now giving excuse that a team from Bangaluru is taken for the National Championship as there is “no culture of Hockey in Andaman”. Isn’t this is a matter of shame that some imposters are ruining the image of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in National level and Administration is keeping mum.

It has been learnt that now the team of Maharastra is planning to lodge an official complaint against the fake team to Hockey India.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha Mr. Rakesh Bali, Secretary (Sports) today accepted that he is totally unaware about this Ghost team. “We haven’t sent any team for the said Championship. I also got a call from the correspondent of Indian Express newspaper on this issue,” Mr. Bali said.

Mr. Lucas Robert, Director of Sports, Andaman and Nicobar Islands also told Andaman Sheekha that the Directorate of Sports and the State Sports Council are totally unaware of the team playing under Andaman and Nicobar Banner in the Hockey India’s Senior Men’s National Championship.

“Only four of the team members of the fake Andaman and Nicobar Team belong to Andaman and Nicobar Islands and it is believed that these four players are undergoing some training in some private sports organization at Bengaluru,” Mr. Roberts confirmed.

When Mr. Lucas was questioned about what action will be taken against those who have made a mockery of A& N Islands, he said that if the hockey association is registered in Andaman and Nicobar Administration then the Department of Sports will cancel its registration.
This is not the first time when people from mainland were taken to National Level Tournaments, depriving local talented youths but sadly neither Police Department nor the Department of Sports is taking any action against the wrong doers.

The Most important question is without conducting any kind of regional or state level tournaments in Andaman and Nicobar Islands for selecting best players, how such ghost teams are formed and selected for National Level Tournament? Are our investigating agencies are sleeping or they are getting their cut from the wrong doers to keep quiet?

Another important question is that for sending a team for National Level Tournament, team managements need a lot of money but in this case who is financing such fake teams? Are indirectly the ‘Certificates of Participation’ in National Level Tournament are being sold to players and non-Islanders by some miscreants in name of promotion of sports in Islands?

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