<p>Two-time Olympian Deepak Thakur feels the Indian hockey players are under the thumb of the game's authorities since there is lack of unity among them.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"We don't have unity among ourselves. We look after our self interests. Otherwise, how could Hockey India prevent players from taking part in the World Series Hockey which is of EPL's (English Premier League's) standard. I will tell this even in front of all these players," fumed the former India frontliner here last night after his franchise team Sher-E-Punjab's practice session at the MHA-Mahindra Stadium.<br /><br />The 31-year-old Hoshiarpur-born forward, a member of the 2001 gold winning Junior World Cup team at Hobart, Tasmania, also hit out at HI for the manner in which they have gone about it to make sure that players selected for the proposed national camp do not take part in the ongoing WSH promoted by its rival Indian Hockey Federation and Nimbus.<br /><br />"Hockey India prevented the players (camp probables) from taking part in WSH, but where is the camp? There is no sign of the camp and the players are wandering around. They would have been better off playing in the tournament, which would have kept them fit. Now when they return they will not be as fit (as before)," he pointed out.<br /><br />"Where is the preparation for the Olympics for which we have qualified? They said they are starting a camp four months before the Olympic Games. It's (Players not participating in WSH) a loss for the players and more importantly for Indian hockey," said Thakur who represented the country in the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics and was part of the silver medal winning squad at the Busan Asian Games in 2002.</p>
<p>Two-time Olympian Deepak Thakur feels the Indian hockey players are under the thumb of the game's authorities since there is lack of unity among them.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"We don't have unity among ourselves. We look after our self interests. Otherwise, how could Hockey India prevent players from taking part in the World Series Hockey which is of EPL's (English Premier League's) standard. I will tell this even in front of all these players," fumed the former India frontliner here last night after his franchise team Sher-E-Punjab's practice session at the MHA-Mahindra Stadium.<br /><br />The 31-year-old Hoshiarpur-born forward, a member of the 2001 gold winning Junior World Cup team at Hobart, Tasmania, also hit out at HI for the manner in which they have gone about it to make sure that players selected for the proposed national camp do not take part in the ongoing WSH promoted by its rival Indian Hockey Federation and Nimbus.<br /><br />"Hockey India prevented the players (camp probables) from taking part in WSH, but where is the camp? There is no sign of the camp and the players are wandering around. They would have been better off playing in the tournament, which would have kept them fit. Now when they return they will not be as fit (as before)," he pointed out.<br /><br />"Where is the preparation for the Olympics for which we have qualified? They said they are starting a camp four months before the Olympic Games. It's (Players not participating in WSH) a loss for the players and more importantly for Indian hockey," said Thakur who represented the country in the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics and was part of the silver medal winning squad at the Busan Asian Games in 2002.</p>