Coach’s penalty stroke could turn out to be own goal

Most of them had taken their place in the team for granted, he said and, if the trend continued, ‘‘it would affect India’s chances in major tournaments.’’

‘‘There is discontent among players regarding endorsements. There is a feeling that some players are getting good contracts while others are not. It is affecting the team’’, he said.

He also blamed the media for creating ‘‘unneccessary hype’’ and for distracting players. ‘‘It is good that media is supporting the game but at the same time so much publicity is affecting the attitude of the players.

‘‘They have started feeling they are heroes. There is nothing wrong in that but they should perform to justify their hero status’’, he said.

Rajinder, an Olympian, also partly blamed lack of concentration on the part of the players for the Champions Trophy debacle. ‘‘Most of the time they were doing phone-ins and other stuff. They were distracted…During their rest time they were talking to the media, and also during the training. They could neither take rest or train properly’’, he said.

While there could be much truth in what he said, what is puzzling is the timing. The provocation, however, is more clearly visible. There has been talk since the Champions Trophy of Rajinder being replaced — he referred to it today, saying there were ‘‘threats to his job from jealous officials and former coaches’’.

Indeed, the rumour was given credence by an agency copy put out during the Amstelveen tournament, after India lost the first match to Holland, in which IHF secretary Jothikumaran raised the issue of a foreign coach.

Today, neither IHF president KPS Gill — on holiday in the US — nor Jothikumaran were available for comment.

The effect of Rajinder’s outburst on the players was hard to gauge immediately. None was willing to speak on record but a senior player said, ‘‘Rajinder is quite a nice guy and compared to some of the previous coaches, he allowed players to play their natural game. But it is true that tactically, he is not strong.’’

Another player said that Rajinder’s outburst was not related to the performance of the team but the coach was upset that some ‘stars’ were getting more attention.

‘‘A good player will always get more importance but it is good that hockey is getting noticed. I don’t understand why Rajinder wants to spoil everything.’’