The Indian hockey team continue to be in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Just as they were gearing up quietly for the forthcoming World Cup - the media was barred from training sessions - a controversy arose over their alleged demand for Rs50million (Dh4m) to participate in a glamorous charity event that would include Bollywood actors.
The players refuted the claims and threatened to take action against the organisers who painted a picture of them looking greedy.
Hockey players demanding Rs50m is beyond belief considering they are not superstars.
But there is a possibility that they may have demanded a sizeable amount, considering Bollywood presence would not have come cheap despite it being a charity event.
Here is what the Stick2Hockey website reported on the incident: "The bone of contention seemed to be money and a plane ticket involving a player who was not part of the squad.
"The organisers sent out 21 tickets, whereas the squad comprised of 22 players who were part of the camp.
"Later on, the 22nd player was picked up by the organisers but the player in question was not part of the camp and the rest objected to it. This development was later confirmed to us by [the Indian player] Prabhjot Singh."
It is fair to question the decision of the players to get into something like this when the two-week FIH World Cup starts on Sunday. It is not to say that extra effort in training and staying focused would translate to a World Cup win, but at least it would help in making them better prepared for a stiff challenge.
Refusal to get involved in a charity event would have hit the pocket, but it would have sent out the right signal to everyone - that India mean business at the World Cup.
The enormity of preparing for an international competition of this importance at home can never be underestimated, and although the nation should not be shocked if India do not get near the final stages, a carefree attitude would kill Indian hockey.
Playing at home has to be an advantage in any sport and the Indian team, captained by Rajpal Singh, need to take factor that in.
It was unfortunate to read the story about the coach Jose Manuel Brasa arguing with the establishment over the choice of captain.
No leader would want to be undermined, but it is not something that has not happened before and the show must go on.
Recently I met a hockey fan, who is close to the team, and he was most upset when I brought up the issue of a pay dispute between the players and the board last month.
"Please get one thing clear. The players were not demanding cash. What they wanted was a proper pay structure which would not only benefit them, but the future generation as well," he said.
I realised I had touched a raw nerve.
No doubt, the players were brave to take on the establishment for a better pay deal; outrageous enough to stop training until demands were met; wise and visionary in pressing for a graded contract system.
But while that has yet to come to fruition, all demands should be on hold for the moment because now is the time to deliver.
The vagaries of sport do not guarantee results, but the least India can do is give grit a good name. Unlike cricket, there will not be unreasonable expectations from the fans, so Brasa would do well to encourage flair so that the sport in India will benefit.
Hockey is still popular and that's why it is India's national sport (yes, not cricket) but it needs a larger fan base and the number of children who want to play the sport must increase.
It is not easy for players to forget their battles with the establishment when they take to the turf, but it is possible - with or without the help of a psychologist. Success has been achieved in a back-to-the-wall situation.
Indian cricketers have done this time and again.
I remember a source in the cricket team's dressing room telling me that the team had a "go-to-hell" line for each of their critics when they beat Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup match at Centurion.
It was a great comeback by Sourav Ganguly's team who were ridiculed after their loss to Australia at the same ground earlier in the tournament.
Forget the humiliation from the media, some of the players' homes were stoned.
Yet India got back at their detractors through performance. From no-hopers, they eventually made it to the final.
India's hockey players ought to follow their cricket counterparts.
The Indian Olympic Association chief Suresh Kalmadi, whose powers of persuasion came to the fore in the "Players versus Hockey India" battle, has gone on record to say that the players would never face any form of victimisation for their decision to take on the administration.
In that case, the players should be itching to set foot on the astro-turf and play their natural game. As coaches would say, the best results emerge if players do what comes naturally.
India will never match the other teams when it comes to the power game, but they can do incredible things with their skills and no sportsman can be successful if he does not out-think his opponent.
There will be winners and losers at the World Cup in New Delhi, but two aspects will contribute greatly to the tournament's success - an incident-free event and the nature of play.
Power, speed, precision, oriental skills - the tournament must see it all.
Clayton Murzello is Group Sports Editor of Midday, an Indian newspaper
@Email:sports@thenational.ae
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”