Hockey players up in arms against coach Brasa

New Delhi, Nov 18: A rattled Hockey India (HI) president A K Mattoo is flying down to Pune following a reported revolt by senior players spearheaded by deposed captain Sandeep Singh against coach Jose Brasa.

The seniors are apparently unhappy with the way the Spanish coach is going about his job. Sandeep, who has pulled out of the camp complaining a back problem, seems to differ with Brasa over drag-flicking. A source close to Sandeep said Brasa wanted the drag-flicker to use a longish, flat stick but the player is unwilling to make any change in his stick or the way he drag-flicks. When contacted, Sandeep told that he would not like to discuss the “nature of his back problem till he talked to HI officials. Please, I don’t want to talk about my back problem before I talk to HI officials,” he said. The senior national team is preparing at Pune’s Balewadi Complex for the Champions Challenge tournament at Salta, Argentina, from December 6-13. Five players, including Ignace Tirkey and Prabodh Tirkey, who are not in the squad for Salta but they are part of the core group preparing for the Commonwealth Games, are also miffed with Brasa.