Media Watch: A former player from Mumbai was busy yesterday. The disgraced former coach called hockey covering journalists he knows, and planted a story.
His feed was, how the Indian team for the Argentina tour traveled on rickshaw to catch the flight and how the team got the visa so late, so on and henceforth.
Every newspaper in India ignored the planted news item knowing well getting visa in the last minute has become our work ethics of sort!
Since the story is carried out by a leading newspaper and it was accorded prominence against almost nil space for India winning Australia in the AYOF in Sydney, it becomes imperative to get to the bottom of the truth.
The news item opens thus: The team went to the airport in auto-rickshaws from their Karol bag hotel . The story leads to something else subsequently contrary to this beginning.
The distance between Karolbagh to the airport will be roughly 15 km, involving at least five major road over bridges, where rickshaws are forbidden, not easy to pedal such high rises.
Therefore, it is virtually impossible and impracticable to travel to airport by an auto-rickshaw. The team has indeed left by a specially arranged bus.
Why a non-issue has got such a prominence? Because, a section in the media for whom objectivity is often a casualty, consider former players can never be wrong. It is indeed media who knows it is because of most former players, selfish and virtual frogs in the well, that our hockey has been brought to this level decadence.
Still, some buy their planted stories. The Mumbai-based former player called a dozen journalists, and only one – unfortunately belonging to most circulated paper- bought the falsehood.
1 Comment
The team even if the travel by rickshaw or “tangewala” it has got anything to do with hockey… There are hardships in getting VISAS for hockey team… Even when IHF existed I have seen coaches running to get VISA’s and ENRC done in last minute, many times even the flight ticket was handed over to the coaches/managers in airport… and this is beacuse we do not have a permanent administrative manager for each team.. The managers arrives just on the day of the tour….Moreover sometimes even the travel agents also play a bit nasty game to select routes which are cheaper and longer where they are benefitted. The last minute purchase of tickets benefits them. This is one of the reason that team may have to run to airport either in a taxi or auto….. But then this is not an issue… Last year the team which was returning back from Australia were not sure that they would be a part of the team that played in Azlan Shah hockey 2008 where Bansals boys won the silver…. The selection of players in this case was only informed in Kuala Lumpur Airport… The previous coach also initaited to do ‘Dharna’ in front of Karnataka CM’s house/office… Is this ideal for hockey, then? The former hockey players should try to put in news which would assist in upliftment of hockey, rather than tarnisihing the image of hockey in India…..Will they strive for it? is still a question……