Rebels players called to Delhi

The fate of the five rebel players, who were served show-cause notice for attending the World Series Hockey (WSH) programme, will be decided over the next two days.

The fate of the five rebel players, who were served show-cause notice for attending the World Series Hockey (WSH) programme, will be decided over the next two days.

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The five players - Adrian D'Souza, Sandeep Singh, Sardar Singh, Prabhjot Singh and Arjun Halappa - had left the camp in Bangalore after being denied permission to attend a WSH event in Mumbai. They were served show-cause notice last Tuesday and asked to send their replies to Pargat Singh, chairman of Hockey India's (HI) disciplinary committee, in a week's time.

However, they have now been called to New Delhi to meet the top HI official and explain their position.

"We haven't submitted our replies to the show-cause notice. We will be meeting Pargat Singh in Delhi in a day to two and explain our position," said one of the five players on condition of anonymity.

HI sources said the federation had left it to Pargat to deal with the matter but hoped a decision would be taken before the start of the next phase of the camp on August 8.

Meanwhile, the sports ministry will also be firming up its response to FIH's stand against the temporary agreement between HI and the Indian Hockey Federation in the next couple of days.

The FIH has declared the agreement untenable under its statutes and the Olympic Charter as there can't be two bodies to govern a sport in a country.