no place for foul play

Former Indian hockey goalkeeper Ashish Ballal tells SS Shreekumar that politicians have no place in sport

f ormer India hockey captain Ashish Kumar Ballal, the man whose heroics under the goal post made the 1998 Asian Games gold medal possible, says the ad hoc committee currently in place to run hockey must be replaced by a constitutionally-elected body as soon as possible. Excerpts from an interview: On the state of Indian hockey The game has hit rock bottom. It can’t slip further. During KPS Gill’s time there was at least a policy, right or wrong. The ad hoc committee has no policy in place. How can the game develop? How can a committee run by failed politicians improve hockey? On administrative problems Be it infrastructure, academies, camps, tournaments, coaching or the national team, the game’s development is being affected at every step. If we took one step backwards in Gill’s time, we have taken 10 steps backwards during the ad hoc committee’s tenure. Not a single state association runs a hockey academy despite infrastructure being available. How do you spot and groom players? On what needs to be done The ad hoc committee should call for elections and ensure that a proper national federation is in place at the earli est. At the Amby Valley conclave last year, IOA chief Suresh Kalmadi said he was busy till 2010. If he meant that the ad hoc body would continue till then, only God can save Indian hockey. On the Indian team We have always had good teams. Coaching is the problem. More often than not, coaches who have ne ver gone through the grind or even coached good club sides are given charge of the national team. A coaching certificate from the FIH doesn’t mean much if you have n’t coached at all levels. On selection-related disputes A good player always has a big ego. It is for the coach to nurture such players and not label them as und i sciplined. It is because coac hes lack man ma n a gement skills that players like Deepak Thakur have been dropped and lost precious years. If such players are fit, there is no thing wrong in selecting them.

On areas of improvement The game has become fast er and more physically demanding. In today’s game, you need a strike the right balance. All round players are needed and I think the Indian team has the right balance.

On promoting hockey in India The rules must be changed to make them easier to und erstand and te levision-friendly. Un less the game is on TV , it can never grow.

Look at Formula One. When more people wa tch the game, there wi ll be more players. You don’t need to do anything else to promote hockey in India.

shreekumars@hotmail.com