New Delhi: The hockey World Cup in Germany is five days away from start and the Indian team couldn’t have asked for a more lucrative offer – a cash incentive of a whopping Rs 1 crore – if they manage to win the tournament.
The cash incentive was announced on Friday by the Premier Hockey League (PHL) for the tourney to be held in the city of Monchengladbach from September 6 to 17.
If India manage to reach the finals of hockey’s showpiece event, they stand to receive Rs 50 lakh while a third place finish will earn them Rs 25 lakh.
"The PHL will also bear all expenses of the injured drag-flicker Sandeep Singh's rehabilitation and physiotherapy," R C Venkatesh, Managing Director of ESS, which owns the PHL, said on Friday.
Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) President K P S Gill rubbished claims that the cash rewards were a mere publicity stunt, adding that the Indian team is capable of surprising some of the favourites to win the World Cup.
"The top six teams can beat each other. We have seen it past international tournaments. So it is not a publicity stunt," he said.
Gill hopes that the incentive will motivate the side to put up a good show in Germany. "PHL's announcement of the rewards will inspire the Indian team to give their best shot at the World Cup," he said.
India coach V Bhaskaran was also pleased by the PHL providing video analysis facilities other than the cash rewards.
"It's a pleasant surprise (to know about PHL's announcement). The provision of video analysis is also a good step forward," Bhaskaran said.
"It is as much a training tool as it is a strategy tool. The video analyst is already working on specific requirements given by us. We are confident that the team performance will improve with this step," he said.
Captain of the Indian side Dilip Tirkey also hailed PHL's decision to help the national side.
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