Things have gone from bad to worse for the Indian Men’s hockey team just ahead of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. It has been learnt that the players will be skipping the opening ceremony scheduled to begin later tonight at the Maracana Stadium in Rio, due to the lack of proper kit.
Head coach Roelant Oltmans put forward his complaints in an email which was later supported by the skipper P R Sreejesh. The jerseys that had been provided by the Indian Olympic Association were mostly of wrong sizes which didn’t fit. That has caused a reluctance amongst the team members to wear them in front of the world audience during the opening ceremony.
Rakesh Gupta, India’s chef de mission, dismissed the allegations made by the Indian team and claimed that the IOA has been fulfilling all of its responsibilities towards the team for the Olympic campaign.
When contacted by Sportskeeda, Hockey India refused to comment on whether the rumors of players skipping the ceremony are valid. It remains to be seen whether the dispute is resolved on time and the Men in Blue, who are chasing their first Olympic medal after 36 years get to feature in the Opening ceremony march in Rio’s Maracana stadium.
