India may have sorely missed their experienced forwards in the Champions Trophy, but the Indian Hockey Federation is in no mood to recall any of the senior strikers in near future.
While the doors have been slammed shut on Dhanraj Pillay and Baljit Singh Dhillon, Punjab player Gagan Ajit Singh would also have to "work his way back into the team", says IHF president K P S Gill.
The IHF chief also regrets having made the "mistake" of including the likes of Pillay in the team for the Olympics owing to public outcry over their omission.
Taking a dig at the veteran players, Gill said, "our players don't retire... we have to tell them that we are not selecting you anymore.
"We made a mistake of taking the seniors back for the Olympics and the very people who held demonstrations do not talk about the seniors any more," Gill said.
"If they had the guts they should have come out and said we made a mistake in pressurising. They don't have the character to do so. We should not make similar mistakes...what matters is the form, game and application. If a player lacks the application then he should not be there in the team."
Gill did not spare the coaches either saying most of them did not know "the domestic set-up in India" and the IHF would now appoint someone who is "result-oriented" and does not have "pre-conceived notions."
"Unfortunately none of the foreign coaches know what's being done in Indian hockey at the moment, even [Gerhard] Rach does not know," Gill said.
Rach, the country's first foreign coach, is on his way out after India finished fourth in the recent Champions Trophy in Lahore.
"There are good coaches who are approaching us, we will look at all of them, not only Rach, and then take a decision keeping in mind what is good for the country. We have to look for people who are result oriented and who don't come with pre-conceived notions."
Gill said he would interact with other applicants before taking a final decision.
"I would like to discuss with him [Rach]. I would also like to study the other coaches, their career graphs, interact with them and then decide by the time the Premier Hockey League finishes [in February]."
Gill also said he is "not disappointed" with the performance of the team in the Champions Trophy since it did not get enough time to prepare for the elite event. But he promised a better show in the 2005 edition to be held in Chennai.
