Indian women lost five of their six matches by a single goal margin at the recent World Cup in Spain. The perennial thorn in the Indian flesh, South Korea, was the lone team to outplay our girls (1-4) at Madrid. Their valiant victory over the dominant rival at Doha for the bronze, therefore, is heartwarming. More so because it is first win for India over Korea in 24 years in the Asian Games after 1982. In fact after Korea emerged on the scene midway through the 80s, hardly could India conquer them. When it did manage on some occasions such as 2004 Asia Cup and 2003 Afro-Asian Games those were because the Asian superpower (2 Olympic silver, 4 Asian Games gold, 3 Asia Cup titles, 2 Jr. World Cup titles, a gold and silver at Champions Trophy) chose to send its second string!

If sports is known for tit-for-tat duels and sagas of revenge, our girls present yet another proof to this unending sporting ethos. Doha is India ‘s sweet revenge for a Madrid humiliation. At Madrid, Korea converted all four penalty corners in the 5-8 play off for their 4-1 whitewash of India. At Doha its one off one for India in the same penalty corner arena to teach a lesson or two for the famed rivals.

M.K. Kaushik, women’s coach, finishes the hectic year with a silver at the Commonwealth Games and a bronze at Doha. While KPS Gill’s male domain hit one low after the another in the same year – out of Commonwealth Games and Asian Games semifinals for the first time in the history and 11 th at Monchengladbach World Cup – Kaushik manages to knit an outfit from the scratch. Our lasses returned winless from the Busan Asian Games four years ago (where Korea humiliated India with a thumping 5-0 win) now a bronze is tangling around their shoulders.

Kaushik’s success is slap on the face of IHF chief, who sacked him despite his boys brought the gold at the 1998 Asian Games. Down eight years, Gill’s team is in tatters while Kaushik constructs a castle from nowhere — half of the Doha team is below 19.

A couple of years after sacking him, when Gill invited Kaushik to him home, his recall was expected. Instead, Gill chose to lecture Kaushik ‘how he brings a negative image to Indian hockey, how it prevents the IHF from getting sponsorship’ and all that stuff.

If you think Gill is the only official to humiliate delivering coaches like Kaushik, you are mistaken. In 1993, a Sports Authority of India official forced Kaushik to give in writing that his team would win at least a bronze at the Asia Cup or Asian Games (1994) as a precondition for clearing a preparatory tour!

Hapless Kaushik had to oblige and luckily for him his girls under the leadership of Rajbir Rai – she was manager at Doha — India won the bronze at Hiroshima Asia Cup, drawing Japan in a crucial match. Even Prof. Sunny Thomas, the magician coach whose shooting stars rein in gold, would not dare giving such an outright undertaking before a tournament!

Officials masquerading sports patron are everywhere. They soil the environ. Doha Asian Games’ Best Athlete, shooting sensation Jaspal Rana has given enough hints on this count in the whole of this week. But Kaushik’s recent encounter with B.C. Sinha, Secretary, Sports Authority of India, merits worth mentioning.

A day after he returned from Madrid World Cup, Kaushik was invited for an IOA function at the National Stadium where on spotting him, Sinha took strong objection to him airing some comments against Sports Authority of India in the press. In a passing remark in one of his columns in HT, Kaushik observed inadequate scientific support coming from SAI for team preparation. Instead of rectifying the lapse that the coach tried to highlight, Kaushik claims, he has been openly humiliated by the SAI top gun. Insulted, Kaushik made a strong protest against him with the Indian Hockey Confederation (see box). However, in the larger interest of the game, the IHC did not initiate any further move.

Incidents of such nature go on to prove how it is difficult for players and coaches to deliver in the tight regimes in which they are. But history is not made of ego-ridden officials such as Gill and some in the SAI set up, but by the likes of Kaushiks who fought rivals on the turf in their playing days and continue the fight with same vigour and vitality against the masquerades off the fields when they become coaches.

Kaushik’s letter of protest lodged with the Indian Hockey Confederation.

Date: 11th October 2006

Subject: Secretary, SAI’s mis-behaviour in public at National Stadium.

I am surprised to see misbehaviour of Secretary SAI in public calling me ‘bloody just a coach’. I strongly objected to it. If he has any objection against me he has his own powers to use it. I have not said anything, keeping Indian team’s interest. I stand by my words in press that no suitable s