Hockey legends like V Baskaran, BP Govinda, Leslie Fernandez, and VJ Philips were denied access to the guest podium during the Hockey World Cup Trophy tour event at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday, December 21. V Baskaran was the former captain of the Indian hockey team that won the gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. In a video that went viral on social media, Baskaran is seen asking, “Is this a hockey function? Do you know generical things about sports? (sic).” The former captain of the Indian hockey team further said that Govinda, Leslie, and Philips, who were World Cup winners, have to be seated in the front row of the podium. This incident happened when politicians and Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) officials were escorted to the podium, sidelining the former hockey players.
According to Sportstar, in his speech, Philips said that the organisers of the event have forgotten how to honour World Cup winners and was extremely distressed. He added that out of the 8 crore population in Tamil Nadu, only three of them have played in the Hockey World Cup and managed to win it. The former hockey champion further stated that he was upset about the fact that he was not even recognised and the organisers thought he was not worthy of respect, and he found it very disturbing.
He said, “From playing barefoot on this very ground, I’ve donned the India colours for around 12 years and represented the country in two Olympics apart from the World Cups. If people from our state don’t respect us, where else will we get respect?”
உலக கோப்பை காட்சி போட்டி மேடையில் ஒலிம்பிக் தங்க மகன்களுக்கு இடமில்லை.@Sportskeerthi @giffy6ty @arseinho pic.twitter.com/3yEEJuxXI9
— Santhana Kumar (@sandy_twitz) December 21, 2022
The former World Cup winners were also seen talking to Udhayanidhi Stalin, who had recently been inducted in the Tamil Nadu Cabinet as the Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Development. Reports say that the minister assured the former players that such incidents will not be repeated in the future.