There should be a mechanism in place for ensuring accountability of foreign coaches and technical experts to whom we pay lakhs of rupees, said former captain of Indian Hockey team, Ajit Pal Singh while addressing a news conference here on Sunday.
Singh had arrived with the Indian Hockey team to participate in the new Astro Turf hockey stadium to be inaugurated at Rajnandgaon district headquarters on Monday.
Earlier, the Captain of Indian Hockey team Sardar Singh said, “We have a long way to go and we should improve our fitness. We are looking forward to the World Cup and Commonwealth games.”
He was of the view that if the Indian team has to compete with world’s best teams then one needs to have the best level of fitness . “If we have to play 70 minutes match and become world champion then we should have fitness like them (champion teams),” he stressed.
Ajit Pal Singh who was also part of Indian Hockey team that participated in Olympics said Major Dhyan Chand should be the first to be awarded Bharat Ratna. “He was such a great player that we give award on his name so I think he deserves the honour first,” he added.
Over the issue of foreign coaches, he was of view that there should be accountability mechanism in place. “We are only concentrating on senior level but we must also look at the grass root level places such as towns and villages from where the players actually come up,” Singh remarked.