New Delhi, Dec 20 (PTI) Between national men team’s failure to qualify for Olympics for the first time in 80 years to the infamous cash-for-selection scandal, the year gone by witnessed Indian hockey’s transition from bad to worse.

India’s failure in the international circuit, controversies and administrative goof-ups dominated the year 2008 which has very little to show except a few stellar performances by the junior men.

However, the incident which shattered every Indian’s heart was the eight-time Olympic champions’ failure to qualify for Beijing Games after losing to Britain in the final of a qualifying event in Santiago, Chile.

The women’s team also followed suit and missed their bus to Beijing, thereby leaving India, once powerhouse of world hockey, unrepresented in the Olympics.

After the Santiago debacle, every citizen thought that it would be redemption time for the national game, but instead of working together towards regaining the lost glory of the sport, people sitting at the helm of affairs started a blame game with most of brunt falling on an autocratic then Indian Hockey Federation Chief KPS Gill.

Coach Joaquim Carvalho’s was the first head to roll, followed by IHF vice-president Narendra Batra, who voluntarily resigned, but a stubborn Gill refused to step down or own the responsibility.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA), who is presently handling the hockey affairs in the country, also came out strongly in support of under-fire Gill, saying that the “man-hunt” will not help change the fortunes of the game and the setback at the Olympic qualifiers should be seen as a wake-up call. PTI

Courtesy: Saumojyoti Singha Choudhury

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