NEW DELHI: Indian centre forward Shivendra Singh's suspension from the ongoing Hockey World Cup has been reduced from three matches to two, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said on Tuesday.
Blog: Shivendra's ridiculous suspension. Indian hockey misses the clout of BCCI
Shivendra had been served the three-match ban by tournament director Ken Read on Monday for "deliberately hitting" Pakistan's Fareed Ahmed during Sunday's match between the sub-continental rivals which India won 4-1.
But following an appeal by the Indian team management, the three-member Appeal Jury ruled on Tuesday that Shivendra's action in raising his stick was "reckless but that he did not deliberately intend to cause injury".
"The Jury considers that it constitutes physical assault as referenced in the FIH Code of Conduct Guidelines of Offences and Penalties.
"The Jury concluded that the offence was Level 2 (under Article 15 of the tournament regulations), was reckless but not deliberate and therefore requires the minimum penalty of a two-match suspension," Antonio von Ondarza, president, FIH Appeal Jury, said in a statement.
Shivendra, who scored the first goal against Pakistan, now has to sit out India's crucial Pool B matches against Australia on Tuesday and Spain on Thursday.
Indian team manager and national coach Harendra Singh said Shivendra had pleaded that his action was not deliberate and assured that he would be "more careful" in future.
Terming Shivendra's absence in the two games as "a big blow" to the team, Harendra said: "He would have been crucial against Australia and Spain and we will go back to the old times where we used to play with 14 players"
Blog: Shivendra's ridiculous suspension. Indian hockey misses the clout of BCCI
Shivendra had been served the three-match ban by tournament director Ken Read on Monday for "deliberately hitting" Pakistan's Fareed Ahmed during Sunday's match between the sub-continental rivals which India won 4-1.
But following an appeal by the Indian team management, the three-member Appeal Jury ruled on Tuesday that Shivendra's action in raising his stick was "reckless but that he did not deliberately intend to cause injury".
"The Jury considers that it constitutes physical assault as referenced in the FIH Code of Conduct Guidelines of Offences and Penalties.
"The Jury concluded that the offence was Level 2 (under Article 15 of the tournament regulations), was reckless but not deliberate and therefore requires the minimum penalty of a two-match suspension," Antonio von Ondarza, president, FIH Appeal Jury, said in a statement.
Shivendra, who scored the first goal against Pakistan, now has to sit out India's crucial Pool B matches against Australia on Tuesday and Spain on Thursday.
Indian team manager and national coach Harendra Singh said Shivendra had pleaded that his action was not deliberate and assured that he would be "more careful" in future.
Terming Shivendra's absence in the two games as "a big blow" to the team, Harendra said: "He would have been crucial against Australia and Spain and we will go back to the old times where we used to play with 14 players"
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