Future of Indian hockey depends on WC: Kindo

Olympian Michael Kindo feels future of hockey in the country will be plunged into darkness if India fails to come up with a good performance in the World Cup starting later this month in Delhi.

Kindo, who was a member of the India team that won bronze in the 1972 Summer Olympics, is worried about the present state of affairs in the national game and said for the hosts, it would be an arduous task to reach the semifinals.

“Indian hockey has been rocked by players strike and captaincy issues. As a player you feel bad about the state of affairs. India couldn’t qualify for the Beijing Olympics and if they don’t perform in the World Cup, it will be a dark future for hockey,” said Kindo.

India open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on the inaugural day of the 12-team event and Kindo feels for Rajpal Singh and his men it would be a Herculean task to get past the neighbours.

“Pakistan have always been a very formidable team. I played four times against them and the scoreline has been 2-2.

They are a strong team. Apart from Pakistan, strong teams like Australia and Spain are also in Group B. I want India to win but our road to semifinal is very tough,” he said.

Asked why he feels the performance of the team has dipped over the years, Kindo said their is a dearth of talent and quality drag-flickers in the country.