Women too need some focus

Recently India played two tournaments, one in men’s category and the other in the women’s.

Everyone took note of one while ignoring the other. It doesn’t need top brains to find whom we took seriously, and initiated positive steps.

A poor finish at the Azlan Shah grabbed all the attention. Hell broke. Pargat Singh threatened going Anna Hazare way – hunger strike. Hockey India had to take him seriously — whom it was seriously avoiding till then — which he deserved but was not getting till then.

In a fortnight that followed, everything fell in line. Pargat Singh and his trusted aide Sukhbir Singh Grewal took charge. The bonhomie and the frenzy was something akin to 1992 pre-Olympics days when Pargat Singh as captain and Grewal as deputy coach worked in tandem.

This time everything was for good. Wiser elements in the set up could make bureaucracy see wisdom, and it not only loose the purse strings but also hurried the process. Three suitable coaches turned up, though in hindsight it appears they need not have called anybody other than Australians, as all of a sudden Australian type of hockey seemed to have got the imagination of those count.

Nobbs, a coach who dreamt of training Indian team for over a decade from now, did a right thing. He brought with him not only materials for presentation, but also a hotelier, his well wisher, an Indian hockey supporter, from Perth. It seems everything worked wonders.

Indians always go for ‘cheap and best’, which delivers in our daily lives. Nobbs also showcased his outward flexibleness. He showered praise on Indian hockey, which in this age of frustration, is the music for every Indian. He expressed gratefulness for Indian hockey, and it is nothing short of ecstasy for the same Indians. In the first press conference in Delhi soon after getting the nod, he won the hearts of administrators. Either he must have been a great follower of Indian drivers of sports or must have been tutored. Whatever, a foreign coach is a welcome sign.

Now nobbs, who booked a ticket for landing in Bhopal, had belatedly landed in India, but armed with the top title which is envious of every hockey coach born on the planet earth. .

Entire India enjoyed the welcome sequence.

But at the same time, a week after Azlan Shah tournament, our women also participated in a tournament, a category two event, that is, teams in the bracket 7-20 in the rank. In Duplin in the Champions Challenge I, our girls, who are consistently second or third in the Asian hierarchy, were floored, failed.

But does any of us took note of it?
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It doesn’t seem so. Of course, it is conceded that no foreign coach is needed for women’s hockey. CR Kumar is competent enough; Duplin was his first assignment unlike Harendra who has been branded as longest surviving, though mostly in secondary position.

But the fiasco, a finish at distant 7th in a Grade II tournament, needs some introspection, some debate, some admonishment.
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Nothing has happened. Even we haven’t heard of view of the new coach as to what went wrong and what needed to be done.

One problem, apart form least focus from everyone of us, is lack of talent in women’s domain. Despite having a National championship before Duplin, unlike in men’s which was held after the Azlan Shah Cup, it made no difference to teams’ fortunes. Not much talent has been on display.

This is the root cause of women’s downfall now. It runs on old horses, and you cannot expect the race to be won. Anybody who watched the final of the Amsterdam CT would have noticed virtually no difference exists between the top men and women’s teams. This shows how much our ladies has to travel if it has to be a force to reckon with.

Our women’s domain is akin to our tiger reserves, where every other animal thrives except tigers. Our national animal’s story is similar to our national game as well.
Indian women can’t just count on a Shahbad or an East Indian tribal belt for its sustenance. The same Japan — which once was coached by Nobbs — whom we beat in the Doha Asian Games five years ago, and in the Asia Cup two years ago, has won the Duplin honours.

Its coaching problem in men, while it is catching problem in women’s.

Our men and women in the administration must show at least fraction of attention to women. .

Women too now have great chance to be in the Olympics what with Qualifier on home soils. Bring more talents they will surely qualify.

Human Resources is the problem in women. Anybody listening or at least talking about it?

While there is a light at the end of the tunnel for men, nothing of that sort is seen with respect to women. This is bad.