Former players hit back at Indian Hockey Federation President K P S Gill for his comment that those who played in the Olympics [Images] after 1966 were "not Olympians but losers".

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"It is a laughing matter. I don't think he (Gill) must have made the comment with a stable mind," Olympian and legendary left out Zafar Iqbal said reacting to Gill's comment.

Gill had no authority to comment on former Olympians, Iqbal said adding "I don't even know how much he understands hockey.

"I should not say this but he will have to take another birth to understand the game."

In an interview yesterday, Gill had termed all the Olympians after 1966 as "losers".

When asked to comment on the criticism by ex-Olympians that constant changing and chopping was affecting the team's performance, Gill had said that he did not consider their comments "valid".

"I don't consider the comment of those who played in the Olympics after 1966 as valid. They are not Olympians, they are losers. They got a gold in the (boycott-marred) 1980 Olympics against very weak opposition. I don't consider them as Olympians, they have vested interests," Gill said.

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