Demonetisation hits foreign hockey players too

Indian government's demonetisation move has affected all and sundry and the latest to feel an impact of it are foreign teams, participating in the men's Junior Hockey World Cup.
The Narendra Modi-led Indian government had banned Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes last month in a bid to counter black money, corruption, fake currency and terrorism.
But the countrymen as well as foreigners travelling to India have been facing problems because of shortage of cash in banks and ATMs.
Germany coach Valentin Altenburg, who has been a regular visitor to India as coach of the German senior side and also as coach of Mumbai franchise in Hockey India League, said they were troubled by the cash crunch in India.

"We had problems initially. We had to find banks where we could change our currency. It was difficult for us to get money or exchange our currency. We managed to find a bank and get some legal currency but it was not adequate," Altenburg told PTI.
"Our hotel, food and travel expenses are taken care off. The boys are also using cards to shop but it becomes difficult to buy gift or souvenir items from street side small shops without money because everyone does not accept card payments here," he said.

"But I heard the move is going to help the economy of India, if this is the case I think it's a good move."

Australia coach Ben Bishop and his Canadian and English counterparts also said that it was difficult for them to manage without adequate cash initially.
"We had issues in the beginning because we faced difficulties in exchanging currency. The local organisers helped us in getting some money which is not adequate," Bishop said.
His English colleague Job Bleby added: "I don't know much about the issue because I was busy preparing the team for the tournament. But I did hear that our team manager faced problems in arranging money."
The Canadian team seems to have been hit the most as 12 players of the 18-members squad are of Indian origin and have their ancestral roots in the country. In fact two players - Floys Mascrenhas and Ganga Singh were born in India before migrating to Canada.

"I am not a political guy at all so I don't know the matter. But a few players did face problems in exchanging CAD 80 they had with them and are now left with very little money. The problem is some players have their relatives in the country and plan to visit them after the tournament. So they are going to face problems without adequate cash," Canada coach Indy Sehmbi, who is also of India origin, said.
Not just the hockey players, the visiting England cricket team, who is currently playing the fourth test against India in Mumbai, is also facing problems because of limited cash.

The demonetisation step has also hit the tennis circuit with top players Roger Federer and Serena Williams pulling out of the Mahesh Bhupathi-backed IPTL this year because of economic climate in the country.
Earlier the organisers of Pro Wrestling League were also forced to postpone the second edition of the tournament due to demonetisation.