By NANDAKUMAR MARAR
Ajitpal Singh, hockey captain of the FIH World Cup champion men’s squad in 1975, was in Punjab when a musical concert was on in New Delhi. The legendary Lata Mangeshkar had taken the lead in organising the show in August 1983 at the Indraprastha stadium. As everyone is aware, the objective was fund-raising, so that Kapil’s Devils, as the Prudential World Cup- winning squad came to be known, could be given cash incentives worthy of achievement, a historic day for limited-overs cricket, which continues to pull in money. The U-19 players will be rewarded with Rs 40 lakh each for the World Cup victory.
Captain Ajit Pal Singh holds the World Cup Trophy they won, with mercurial forward BP Govinda
West Indies had lost the 1983 cricket final at Lord’s, to give India a first ever world title. Each player got a cheque of rupees one lakh from the cash-strapped BCCI, out of the concert proceeds. It was an initiative without precedent, a desire to do something in the absence of resources. Ajitpal Singh, one of hockey greats in terms of finesse and flair in the midfield, years earlier in 1975 had flown from Kuala Lumpur to Chennai (Madras then) with the FIH World Cup trophy. India’s only world title so far had come after beating Pakistan 2-1. No music maestro was invited to do a fund-raiser, nor did hockey take off the way cricket did post-1983.
The India hockey captain said: “Money came into the sport after we returned with the World Cup, it went to the federation (Indian Hockey Federation). When we played matches all over India (World Cup team versus Rest of India), the federation may have charged the organisers to host the world champions.” The cash award for the hockey heroes post-KL came to rupees 50,000 per player approximately, according to him. The team, along with manager Balbir Singh Sr, after reaching Chennai from Malaysia, toured nationwide for matches, victory processions, felicitations.
1975 World Success story
Matches in hockey-interest places were high, arranged by the IHF to showcase the world number one team before the fans and followers, for whom hockey was India’s number one sport. Looking back at the reasons for hockey missing the bus towards becoming a lucrative sport, backed by a legacy of Olympic golds earned over decades, plus a World Cup triumph in 1975, Ajitpal said: “We should have tapped more industrialists to promote the game, did not happen. We were satisfied with the celebrations, the balle-balle, shabba-shabba. Dancing to the dhol, open jeep procession is fine, sports promotion needs more than that.”
New Delhi as a base gave him access to information and insights into sports promotion beyond hockey. “Cricket worked to build on 1983 popularity and the results are visible. I admire the BCCI, their imagination (towards promoting sport), the way they applied their minds towards uplifting the sport to world standards. When the Indian contingent went for Tokyo Olympics, I read newspaper reports about monetary support from BCCI towards Olympic preparations (reportedly Rs 10 crore to Indian Olympic Association),” said the multiple Olympics, World Cup and Asian Games medal winner.
India’s next cricket World Cup win came in 2011, almost two decades post-1983 amidst ups and downs internationally, but back home the sport grew. “BCCI is a role model for other sports associations. Federations other than cricket should be in touch with the Board about ways to market sport. There is talk in India about cricket eating up other sports, but that is due to our weakness,” he said, adding: “BCCI has professionals in various positions and can be tapped for advice by Hockey India and other federations for ways to bring in money. It used to be a one-man show in our times. “
Hockey well-wishers in the Mumbai film industry hosted a special exhibition match, where actors, even actresses took turns to play against their heroes. The Bombay Hockey Association stadium buzzed with fans, paying for entry to see glamour live. For Dara Singh, Om Prakash, Randhir Kapoor, Asrani, Danny Denzongpa to name a few present, the real stars were on the grass pitch in the shape of Ajitpal, Surjit Singh, Ashok Kumar, B P Govinda, Aslam Sher Khan, Mohinder Singh, Leslie Fernandes, Ashok Diwan etc. “We got rupees 10,000 each after the Mumbai function. Mr M A M Ramaswamy (IHF president) gave 10,000 and we got 5000 per player at another felicitations.”
Om Prakash, Asrani, Danny posed for photos with the India captain and other players. “The welcome for us from the artists was delightful, they were happy to cheer us for the achievement. We also visited Raj Kapoor’s farmhouse at Lonavala at his invitation. A film director, whose name I cannot recall, told us that we are heroes in real life, all we do is assemble the film stars and get them to act.” Hockey players enjoyed celebrity status then. The Chennai Customs were not so hospitable, duty was charged for shopping done enroute to India with the trophy. Mr Ramaswamy paid and recovered the money from games arranged by the federation later.
He added: “When we were winning Olympic gold medals for decades, India was not short of big industrialists in India but money did not come into the sport. We had few maharajas, none owned a hockey team. The hockey promoters here were busy with self-promotion. Players got jobs in the public sector, police force etc they boasted, but after winning medals and World Cup, if I have to report for duty, how does hockey benefit?” From 1948 London when independent India fielded a hockey side, till 1972 Munich, the nation finished on the Olympic podium. The shock effect was felt in 1976 Montreal.
Legendary singer late Lata Mangeshkar helped the victorious 1983 World Cup cricket winners a respectable case prize
Ajit Pal continued: “Now that we are talking about the Olympics, let me come to 1976 also. Artificial turf came into the Olympic competition for the first time at Montreal. India did not have a single artificial turf. We were the world-beaters the year before (1975), went without exposure to the surface (1976). Artificial turf is water-based, leather balls were used. Five minutes in the water, the ball became heavy like a football. Trapping was difficult, moving with the ball was difficult.” India returning without a medal (seventh place in hockey) was not acceptable back home. “Everything went flat after we lost (in Montreal). “
Hockey rebuilding is still work-in-progress, the 1980 Moscow gold and 2020 Tokyo bronze are bright lights on the way. For the Padmashri awardee, sporting leagues hold promise.
“Hockey India league went on for a few seasons, it should continue. Kabaddi benefitted from a pro league. I am happy to see wrestling, shooting, badminton, and athletics get Olympic medals. Promoters and sponsors will come when they see returns on investment, we have to be prepared to convince them to invest in hockey.“
Celebrity status: Character actors J Om Prakash (left), Asrani and Danny Denzongpa flank the Indian captain at the BHA stadium in 1975