Chandigarh: Deeply hurt with the treatment meted out to him by chief coach Jose Brasa, a "powerless" Indian hockey captain Rajpal Singh on Monday said he has decided to call it quits from the post and will soon air his views to the national federation (HI).
Rajpal accused Brasa of constant "humiliation" during the World Cup earlier this year and said all these days he kept silent only for the sake of the team.
"I had made up my mind to quit 3-4 months back, but decided not to go ahead as Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games were up ahead. But now I feel time has come to speak up as it is difficult to continue as a powerless captain who even does not know what his duties are," Rajpal told PTI after returning from Guangzhou where he led India to the bronze medal.
Just before the World Cup in Delhi, a captaincy crisis rocked Indian hockey after Brasa vouched for senior player Prabhjot Singh to be made the skipper but the national selectors gave the responsibility to Rajpal.
"Brasa wanted to make one of his favourite player captain. But when it did not happen he started humiliating me during the World Cup and then the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia.
"I was like the 16th player of the team despite being the captain," Rajpal said.
He also alleged that the mental torture, which he was subjected to, reflected in the team's poor performance in the World Cup, where India finished a lowly eighth.
"I decided to keep quiet knowing that it would affect the team if I speak in the middle of important tournaments. I tried to give my 100 per cent as for any player playing the game is the first aim and rest is secondary.
"But now with no international tournament lying ahead for the next three months, I have decided enough is enough," said Rajpal, who plays for the Indian Oil Corporation.
"In a day or two when I go to Delhi, I will meet senior officials, including (Hockey India secretary general) Narinder Batra and apprise them about the whole thing," he said.
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