Seven members of the Sri Lanka Masters hockey team are said to have decamped in the United Kingdom where they were taking part in the World Masters championship in May last year, a story which had gone unreported.
Among the seven players is a woman.
The Sri Lanka Masters Hockey Association had planned this tour well in advance and selected players who could afford to pay for their air tickets while disregarding national players who deserved to go on this tour. Each player had to dole out Rs 1.3 million to make the tour.
They had sent letters to the Sports Minister, Director General of the Ministry, the Sri Lanka Hockey Association and to the chairman of the National Sports Council seeking their approval for the tour.
Except for the Sports Minister, all others had refused to give permission for the team to travel to the UK according to a former hockey captain.
“They even changed the logo in the letter head of the Masters Hockey Association from the hockey stick to the Lion flag,” he said on condition that he not be named for obvious reasons.
An inquiry is now underway and the Masters Hockey Association has currently got down a team from India to play a series of matches in Colombo without receiving official approval.
“It is about time the Sports Minister took stringent measures and laid down tough laws on players who want to go overseas with obvious reasons to stay back,” an official said.
He alleged a people-recruiting ruse for employment had been part of the decamping episode in the UK.
