Buoyed by the success of the Indian hockey team in the Asia Cup, chief coach Rajinder Singh has decided to partially relax the "blanket ban" on players from talking to media during the training camp for the Afro-Asian Games starting in New Delhi on Tuesday.
According to the chief coach, two players would be allowed to meet the press during the camp at the National Stadium.
"We will have two to three media briefings during the camp. I have a proposal according to which two players will be talking to reporters during briefings. The media can decide who they want to meet," said Rajinder.
Rajinder said his advice to the players against running after the media before the Asia Cup has borne fruit since the players were able to concentrate more on the game than anything else.
"Earlier eighty per cent of the players were running after the press. My advice was against doing so as it was affecting their game. Now you can see from the resullts that it [my advice] has been effective."
The coach, however, added that the media has a big role to play in development of the game in the country.
During the camp prior to the Asia Cup in Malaysia, gag orders were slapped on all the players, a move which evoked a lot of debate.
India came up with their best ever performance in the Asia Cup, winning the title for the first time since its inception in 1982.
