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Hotmail CEO Bhatia blasts IHF,
rewards Indian hockey players

Sabeer Bhatia, the India-born founder of Hotmail, today announced cash awards of Rs100,000 each for all the 16 players, two coaches, and manager of the hockey team that won the Asian Games gold medal in Bangkok after a gap of 32 years.

In typical American millionaire's style, Bhatia, the 29-year-old Bangalore boy who sold his Hotmail patent to Microsoft Corp for $400 million, flourished 20 cheques worth $50,000 at an informal press meet in Bombay. He signed one the moment he saw Mir Ranjan Negi, the goalkeepers' coach, and presented it.

Bhatia contemptuously dismissed a suggestion to hand over the cheques to the Indian Hockey Federation for distribution. "I will do it myself because in this country corruption is rampant in every walk of life," the former student of the Birla Institute of Technology, Pilani, said pointedly.

Bhatia played hockey for the Combined Universities side in 1987-88 before leaving for America where his first job was as a waiter in a hotel.

He returned to India only yesterday when he read an article on how shabbily the six heroes of the side, Dhanraj Pillay, Ashish Ballal, Sandeep Somesh, Sabu Varkey, Mukesh Kumar, and A B Subbaiah, all cast aside for unwanted 'rest', had been treated.

"I have suffered enough humiliation in life to know how the discarded players must be feeling. Hence the first thought was to soothe them with cash," the young technology tycoon, who is now chief executive officer for Hotmail in Sunnyvale, California, said.

Bhatia later left for Poona to meet Pillay, captain of the winning side, and congratulate him.

He said that in America people believe in achievers and a lot of store is laid by teamwork in business, society and, ultimately, nation-building. "That culture is sadly lacking here," he said.

An example of the rot in Indian sports administration was cited by Asian Games judo medallist Cawas Billimoria, who was sitting beside Bhatia. He revealed that he was once asked to shell out Rs25,000 if he wanted an Arjuna award.

Asked if he would return with more cheques if India won the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Bhatia replied: "Sure."

He said no one should treat sports heroes as mere puppets on a string.

UNI