Thakur
said
being
the
main
financier
of
Olympic
sports
in
the
country,
the
government
has
every
right
to
take
call
on
matters
of
national
representation.

“I
think
any
federation
should
refrain
from
giving
such
statements
and
discuss
with
the
government
first
because
its
just
not
federation’s
team,
its
national
team,”
he
told
reporters.

“In
a
country
of
130
crore
population,
there
are
not
just
18
players
to
represent
country.
It
(CWG)
is
a
global
event
I
feel
that
they
(Hockey
India)
should
engage
with
government
and
concerned
department.
The
decision
will
be
taken
by
the
government.”

India
withdraws
from
Birmingham
CWG
2022
hockey
event;
cites
COVID
concerns,
discriminatory
quarantine
rules

Thakur’s
strong
statement
came
after
Hockey
India
on
Tuesday
pulled
out
of
next
year’s
Birmingham
Commonwealth
Games,
citing
COVID-19
concerns
and
UK’s
discriminatory
quarantine
rules
for
travellers
from
the
country.

HI
also
reasoned
that
there
is
only
a
32-day
window
available
between
the
Birmingham
Games
(July
28-August
8)
and
the
Hangzhou
Asian
Games
(September
10-25),
which
is
a
direct
qualifier
for
2024
Paris
Olympics.

The
minister
said
there
is
no
dearth
of
hockey
talent
in
the
country
and
citing
the
example
of
cricket
added
that
playing
back-to-back
tournaments
are
nothing
new
for
professional
sportspersons.

“There
is
no
shortage
of
talent
in
hockey
in
India.
If
you
see
cricket,
the
IPL
is
going
on
and
then
there
is
the
World
Cup.
If
cricketers
can
play
two
tournaments
back-to-back,
then
why
can’t
players
from
other
sports.

“I
can
understand
Asian
Games
is
being
prioritised
and
I
am
not
going
into
this,
I
am
just
saying
where
the
Indian
team
will
be
playing
just
doesn’t
lie
with
the
federation,
it
lies
with
the
government
also,”
Thakur
said.

Meanwhile,
Thakur
said
the
meeting
of
the
selection
committee
for
this
year’s
National
Sports
Awards
will
be
held
in
next
10
days
time.

“The
selection
committee
will
meet
in
next
10
days
where
they
will
decide
who
all
will
be
given
awards
this
year
and
after
taking
time
from
the
President
of
India,
the
awards
will
be
conferred,”
he
said.