‘HI creators are behind bars’

Vaibhav Sharma

The pain of missing out on the 2008 Olympics still lingers in the mind of all hockey fans. The hurt went deep and scarred even the loyalists who took pride and found hope in the eight Olympic golds that India had won. The man at the helm of the Indian squad during those days was Joaquim Carvalho, one of the top players of his time and a former Olympian too.

If anyone understood the true impact of a nation with such pedigree in hockey missing out on even qualification, it was Carvalho.

He trained many players into world-class talents as well, including the likes of Dhanraj Pillay and Prabhjot Singh. Carvalho speaks to The Tribune about various issues like the IHF-HI merger, Mike Knobbs and issues plaguing our national sport.

The IHF-HI merger has been in the news for some time now. What are your views on it?

I think the merger is absolutely necessary for the game to run smoothly. This rift between IHF and Hockey India has confused everyone involved with the game. There have been times when HI is threatened players with a ban for playing in any tournament outside their own purview.

But do you see the merger materialising?

I don’t really know, but the point is that there are people in HI who have no inclination towards developing the sport. There are people like Narinder Batra, who have created havoc in their home state — Jammu — and we expect them to understand and manage a bigger picture. These people have damaged the game and they continue to do so without being accountable.

But what really has been the issue with Hockey India running the sport in the country?

The main issue is there out in the open now. Most of the people who were behind the formation of Hockey India, are now behind bars. How do we trust an organisation that was founded by such people?

What do you make of the appointment of Michael Knobbs as the new coach? Do you see sound reason behind his appointment?

I have nothing against Knobbs, but with all due respect to him, he is not the remedy for Indian hockey’s woes. He was not the strongest contender, and it looks like his hiring was down to some compromise made by the authorities.

But what about the reasoning that he is an Australian, and they play a similar style of hockey to India?

That is not true. Anyone who has seen the game closely will tell you so. It is not about the formations, but about the players out there.

What do you think of the current state of affairs of domestic hockey?

It is in a shambles, frankly. We need to concentrate on the sub-junior and junior levels as well. But there is nothing on that level at all. The one hope is that with the World Series Hockey coming this year, the Indian players will get a chance to play with the best in the world. That might do the job of the tonic Indian hockey so desperately needs.

I have nothing against Knobbs, but he is not the remedy for Indian hockey. He was not the strongest contender, and it looks like his hiring was down to some compromise — Carvalho on new coah Mike Knobbs