Hockey veterans say they learnt of their own 'farewell' tournament from the media

Four members of the Indian men’s hockey team that won Asian Games gold last month have been told, in effect, that the coming Asian Champions Trophy will be their farewell. The trouble, they say, is that nobody told them.

Mandeep Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas and Nilakanta Sharma were reported on Wednesday to be playing their last matches for India at the tournament in Punjab, which starts on 27 October. Hockey India sources were quoted as saying the move was meant to manage a smooth handover to younger players before the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Hockey India has not said anything on the record about the plan.

Calls from home

Senior players said they were caught off guard. Several said they had heard about their supposed retirement through the media and that the federation should have spoken to them first.

One said he had been fielding phone calls asking whether he had decided to quit, when he had never said any such thing. The news reached the squad while they were still going to felicitation functions after the Asian Games title. Another said his parents had been asking him why he was upset.

A third player said he would have accepted the decision had his form been poor. Another called the manner of it humiliating, and said players who had won Olympic and Asian Games medals had earned the right to announce their own retirement. One admitted he had talked about stepping away during the Asian Games and planned to go before the Olympics, but said he should at least have been kept in the loop. All of them said they wanted to keep playing towards Los Angeles.

Questions over selection

The row has also raised questions about how the federation is choosing who to move on. Some other senior players had poor outings at the World Cup earlier this year and at the Asian Games, yet are not among the four named.

Rohidas and Jarmanpreet are part of the defence, Nilakanta plays in midfield and Mandeep up front. All four are in the 18-member squad that Hockey India named on Tuesday, which is unchanged from the side that won gold in Japan and with it a place at the Olympics. Goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak is back, and defender Amandeep Lakra and midfielder Aditya Arjun Lalage are the two new names.

What comes next

Harmanpreet Singh will lead India as they defend the title. India have won the Asian Champions Trophy five times. The league stage is at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar from 27 October to 2 November, with the semi-finals on 4 November and the medal matches on 5 November at the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium in Mohali.

Pakistan have pulled out of the event, and India begin against Bangladesh in Jalandhar.

Whether the four veterans walk out in Jalandhar knowing it is their last tournament, or with a chance to argue their case, now rests with Hockey India and chief coach Craig Fulton.