‘Hard decisions have to be taken,’ IOA president Batra
The Hindu
Batra backs HI’s decision to pull out of the C’Wealth Games
Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra on Friday backed Hockey India’s decision to pull out of next year’s Commonwealth Games to ensure greater focus on the Asiad, saying “hard decisions” have to be taken for bigger goals and it wasn’t feasible to even send a second-string team.
Hockey India withdrew from the Games on Tuesday, saying that there was only a 32-day window available between the Birmingham Games (July 28-August 8) and the Hangzhou Asian Games (September 10-25).
HI said it was unwilling to risk sending its players to the UK, which has been one of the worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Batra said it was the correct call, given that an Asiad gold would ensure direct qualification to the 2024 Paris Olympics.