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        As the Indian cricket team is overwhelmed with cash and gifts from sponsors and ministers for winning the Twenty20 championship, the nation's victorious hockey team in the Asian Cup is in hunger protest for not being noticed at all.

        When News Today caught up with a few sports persons about the step motherly treatment given to our national game, Rajdeep Jain, aspiring basket ball player said,' in my view hockey should get the same importance as cricket is getting, after all it is our national game'.

        'Hockey will surpass cricket once it is recognised by Indians. But there is media hype for cricket and cricketers. News channels and newspapers never look beyond cricket since they know precious little about any other sport'.

        'I am not anti-cricket but with 120 countries playing hockey, India ranks eighth. As for cricket it ranks sixth among the 10 Test cricket-playing nations' Jain said.

        K Santhanam, a former hockey player said 'the attitude towards our national sport is demeaning. The game is more of players alone who play for India's glory, not for money, because there is hardly any money in hockey'.

        'There are no MNCs queuing up to sponsor hockey players. The players are probably poorer even after winning the tournament because there is a ridiculous rule put in place by the federation, which penalises players for every goal conceded' he added.

        Athlete Manisha Malhotra said , 'a sports person's major victory is when he gets recognised by his countrymen. The treatment edged out by the country towards hockey players is pathetic. One cannot say that cricket players do not deserve the cash awards. But at the same time hockey players deserve to be treated in the same manner'.