s2h Team
Hockey in 2020, like everything else, walked a tightrope amid the Covid-19 pandemic that ravaged all walks of life. The year started off in spectacular fashion as India, who missed the first edition of the FIH Pro League made their debut at home. And also coming up with some spectacular shows. But the year will be know for what it missed than what it was able to present to its fans.
The year was extra-special for hockey. The Tokyo Olympics were scheduled for July-August and teams focussed on putting their best foot forward at the Games. But the pandemic wasn’t remotely likely to make a move and the Olympics, like the Euro 2020 football championships and the World T20 cricket, was suspended. The Games will now be held after exactly a year. It threw team preparations out of gear but the greatest challenge was, as with the general populace, to stay safe and healthy.
Players committed to stay indoors and follow safety precautions even while motivating themselves to train on their own. For countries like India, however, players of either gender trained at their base in Bengaluru taking a break in June and resuming in August. Devoid of match practice may have been frustrating but India drew cheer from three FIH awards – Player of the Year, men’s captain Manpreet Singh, Vivek Prasad, Rising Star (men) and Lalrimsiami (women).
Eva de Goede of the Netherlands won the women’s top award. Vincent Vanash of Belgium won the men’s goalkeeper of the year award. Australian Rachael Lynch did likewise in the women’s section.
Colin Batch of Australia, who guides the Kookaburras, won the men’s coach of the year award. Another Aussie — Alyson Annan who guides the World champion Dutch side – was conferred the women’s award.
India’s Rani Rampal, the women’s captain, carried the torch for hockey in the country by winning the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, turning up for the virtual ceremony at the Sports Authority of India complex in a PPE kit. In January, she was voted World Games Athlete of the Year after polling by sports fans world wide.
Apart from India’s heroics against the Netherlands, international hockey produced a humdinger of a match when the Netherlands and Belgium drew 4-4. The Red Lions took a bonus point from the shootout. Belgium earlier humbled Germany yet again. They won in Dusseldorf 6-1, a result that brought back visions of an 8-0 win over the same opponents last year. The Germans, though, salvaged some honour back with a shootout out win in the second match after a 1-1 draw.
The unrelenting pandemic brought the FIH Pro League to a screeching halt yet again and if all goes well Spain take on Belgium at home on March 5 to resume the event. Belgium with 26 points from 11 matches lead the nine-nation standings. Netherlands (18/9), defending champions Australia (14/8), India (10/8), New Zealand (8/8), Spain (7/8), Germany (7/4) and Great Britain (5/8) follow them.
In the women’s league, holders Netherlands lead the table with 23 points from eight matches. Argentina (17/8), New Zealand (14/8), Great Britain (11/8), Australia (9/6), Belgium (7/9), Germany (6/2), China (0/2) and USA (0/5) occupy the remaining spots.
There were memorable moments in the women’s section as well. New Zealand’s Olivia Merry registered two four goal hauls in the FIH Hockey Pro League. With 10 goals, she seems to have carried carry on where she left, having topped the scorers’ list in the inaugural season.
Hockey once again championed gender equality, this time in the field of umpiring. For the New Zealand vs Belgium match in February, Wanri Venter, Adam Kearns, Aleisha Neumann and Steve Rogers took the pitch in a shining demonstration of the ideal.
Off the pitch, the hockey fraternity did their bit in the battle against the dreaded virus. Inspirational stories like Martin Haner of Germany, a doctor, and Hollie Pearne Webb of Great Britain, a management accountant and environmental worker – both Olympic gold medallists were at the forefront for the cause risking their own well being, safety and possibly their lives.
There were other stirring accounts of hockey players using social media to inspire. None other than Sam Ward of England/Great Britain. Fighting his own battle of overcoming a serious eye injury sustained in the Olympic qualifier against Malaysia, his Isolation Olympics showed videos of the star using household items to re-create the Olympic Sports and with a little comedy and and creativity. It was one of the refreshments of a year fraught with fear, anxiety and challenge.
The lockdown induced a new way of life – one embracing technology as never before. WhatsApp kept umpires connected and Zoom meetings enhanced team discussion and training, not to mention simply keeping in touch.
Social media posts entertained. The digital world has proved vital and FIH Academy utilised technology to the fullest. Online courses have been the order of the day even while admitting that real, physical interaction between people is just not replaceable. The online route, however, has been a revelation and revolution in the way work processes will evolve in time to come.
Elements of training and learning to be delivered online have already revolutionised the way the hockey workforce will develop in the future.
The use of platforms such as Zoom and Teams have enhanced interaction between the world body and the community. A Gender Equality webinar involved 70 participants across the globe was a prime example.
Then, there was the Insta Live chat between Argentina’s Delfina Merino and the Netherlands’ Eva de Goede and would have delighted fans who would surely consider the launch of Watch.Hockey and Hockey Pod a boon. News, views, match replays, stats makes it a package which, one suspects, has been a long-sought dream by the sport’s many die-hard fans.
Heartening moments in a year filled with fear and hardship were also provided by courageous women hockey players in Afghanistan. Denied the right to play, they braved persecution and the spectre of severe punishment to realize their dream of forming a national team enjoying the right to train and compete.