The 29-year-old Bangalore-bred whizkid today proved that his heart still beats for India with a very touching and spontaneous gesture today.

Bhatia was chatting with family friend and judoka Cawas Billimoria -- `Barcelona Olympian (judo) and bronze medallist at Seoul in 1986 -- in the wee hours of Friday morning when he was distressed to hear the manner in which six of India's Bangkok Asian Games hockey heroes were shabbily treated by the Indian Hockey Federation.

Bhatia was ``deeply shocked and dismayed'' to hear from Billimoria that the likes of skipper Dhanraj Pillay and goalkeeper Ashish Ballal, who helped the nation win its first Asian Games gold medal in 32 years, were axed from the national team in a cavalier fashion by theIHF.

Bhatia called a hurriedly-summoned press meet at which he said: ``I want to personally congratulate and reward our courageous players who have brought honour and glory to our country at the Asian Games in Bangkok after 32 years by winning a gold medal.

``At first I wanted to reward only the six who have been humiliated and their egos scarred. Through my personal experience I've learnt the importance of a team in the success of a company, a society and ultimately a nation. Therefore, I have decided to reward all the 16 players, plus their two coaches and their manager.''

Each of the beneficiaries will receive Rs 1 lakh ($ 2,500 to be precise). Only goalkeepers' coach Mir Ranjan Negi was present on the occasion.

Bhatia, who has played the game as right full back during his student days at BITS, Pilani, added: ``The hurt, I am sure, has left an indelible impression on the players. With my humble contribution, I hope I can soothe their wounds. I sincerely wish India the very best of luck in all ofher future assignments.''

Bhatia, who was captivated by the likes of Zafar Iqbal and Pargat Singh in his earlier days, said: ``Indian hockey will win inspite of all the hurdles in its path. It is time we honour and glorify our national treasures and not treat our heroes like mere puppets on a string. I want each of our heroes to realise that we care and salute them.''

Bhatia continued: ``The hurt, I am sure, has left an indelible impression on the players. With my humble contribution, I hope I can soothe their wounds.''

More than the money, Bhatia's inspirational words and feelings as an India should assuage the players' hurt.