Hurt and humiliated at a meagre grant of Rs 25,000 to each of them, the nine surviving members of India's 1956 Melbourne Olympics football squad that finished fourth in the quadrennial extravaganza, have decided to return the cheques to the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

"We, nine Olympians of the 1956 team, are very much shocked. We regret the way you have sent cheques of Rs 25,000 as grant from your executive committee. We are returning the cheques to you," Melbourne squad skipper Samar ('Badru') Banerjee said in a letter to AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco.