Mumbai, India:

Former Pakistan hockey captain Rehan Butt on Friday said India could have avoided finishing last at the London Olympics had they included seniors such as Arjun Halappa and Bharat Chikara, who took part in the rival World Series Hockey and were ignored by Hockey India for the games.

“To the best of my knowledge, and as someone who has played hockey, India would not have finished 12th at the Olympics had Hockey India included players of quality like Arjun Halappa and Bharat Chikara and 2-3 more senior players in the Olympics squad,” Butt, a member of the Pakistan squad in London, told PTI in a conference call.

“India could never have finished 12th in the Olympics if they had not left out players who took part in WSH. If Pakistan players (featuring in WSH) could play in Olympics, why not the Indians?” asked Butt, who played for Chandigarh Comets, one of the eight city-based franchise teams that took part in the first season of WSH held earlier this year.

“Pakistan Hockey Federation thought we were needed and selected us for Olympics. The Indian federation could also have done so if they knew how to treat their players with dignity. The reason why India finished 12th is because of the management (failure) and not the players,” said the player, who was fined one million Pakistan rupees by his country’s federation before being selected for the games where his country finished seventh.

The veteran of three Olympics, two World Cups and five Champions Trophy campaigns said all Pakistani players, who were seen in WSH, will play in the second season of the league, a joint initiative of Nimbus Sport and Indian Hockey Federation.

source: http://www.indiawest.com / Home> News> Sports / by PTI / September 28th, 2012