When asked if he had raised the issue with the IWHF, the team’s coach M K Kaushik said from Lucknow: “This is not the right time to talk about money. The team is preparing for the Olympics and we need to focus on that. We can discuss these off-field issues after the qualifying tournament is over.”

The women’s team, which last qualified for the Olympics in Moscow in 1980, are expected to face a stiff challenge for the last Beijing berth from United States. The Indian women have done fairly well over the last six years, winning the Asian Games bronze in 2006, the Asia Cup gold in 2004, the Afro-Asian Games gold in 2003, and their surprise victory in the 2002 Commonwealth Games had inspired Chak de! India. Characters of the film are based on some players who are still in the team, including captain Mamta Kharab.

The men’s hockey team failed to make it to the Olympics for the first time in 80 years when they lost to Britain in the final of their qualifying tournament in Chile earlier this month, leading to demands from hockey experts for a change in the way the sport is run.