NAI DUNIA: Who is stabbing Indian Hockey?

THIS ARTICLE, WRITTEN BY ME, WAS PUBLISHED IN NAI DUNIA (HINDI NEWWSPAPER) YESTERDAY ON EDITORIAL PAGE. This article is brought to you courtesy: Nai Dunia

Indian hockey is in the danger of survival as never before. Our hockey survived foreign invasion (artificial playing turf) and numerous incidents of terrorism (frequent rule changes) But, will it survive the current mess?

There are three claimants for Indian Hockey Federation now. All these three groups are active, powerful and rich. Five selectors, all are Arjuna awardees, hardly see eye to eye on issues that confront hockey but are thoroughly selfish. When they announced a national coach, the Women Hockey Federation cried foul and claims their coach is snatched! There is an ad-hoc committee which runs hockey now, but its convener (Md. Aslam) is believed to have resigned. In the last six months, this committee met merely once or twice, hardly took any step to improve the lot of either the game or the players.

Further to muddy the waters, there are two court cases pending. The judgments when delivered, can further complicate the matters.

Therefore, the nation is worried on the present plight of its National Game. No foreign country is invading; nor is facing any acts of terrorism, but our hockey is bleeding. Who is stabbing Indian hockey that it is bleeding so profusely?

Not by any outsiders, not by any of its enemies. Hockey is being stabbed by the same people who are supposed to nurse, nurture and protect it.

Hockey is now under brutal attack by two of its legal guardians — the administrators and a section of selfish, clueless former Olympians.

Its ironical and tragedy both administrators and former Olympians jointly undermine hockey, while claiming they are doing their best to improve hockey!

Its KPS Gill, the former president of the Indian Hockey Federation, in his 14-years of autocratic functioning, paralysed Indian hockey. First time in 80 years, we missed out the Olympics. When he was removed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) April this year, sports lovers heaved a sigh of relief.

But Gill still claims he is saviour of hockey and vow to save hockey from the IOA! He filed a case in the Delhi High Court. With a handful loyalists and some bogus State Hockey Association (SHA) officials, he conducted a farce AGM recently in Delhi.

An ad-hoc committee was formed under the IOA president Suresh Kalmadi himself in April. Kalmadi showed rare courage in dismissing KPS Gill, but then he did not accord priority to hockey. His primary interests are Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, Olympics, where stakes are high.

The Ad-hoc Committee and the Selection Committee he formed were packed with either his coteries or by players known for shifting sides whenever power change hands.

Most of KPS Gill’s chamchas, who supported him when he was butchering hockey, had now defected to new power centre. Be it Lesiure Sports Management, who marketed hockey for Gill earning hefty commission, or Olympians like Ajit Pal Singh and MP Ganesh, BP Govinda, and even Gill’s former Media Officer Anupam Ghulati are now advising the ad-hoc committee — and run hockey.

Ajit Pal’s case is classic. He was a selector and columnist when Gill dropped six players and victorious coach MK Kaushik from the gold winning 1998 Asian Games team. But the same Ajit Pal now says Kaushik is the best coach. Yes, Kaushik is the best coach, but why Ajit Pal did not say so to Gill when he sacked him? We have to judge people by action, not by how famous they are.

The ad-hoc committee failed to deliver, as it got input from the same vicious and vested interests. Neither did the committee interact with the State Hockey Associations (SHA) properly. They did everything on their whim and fancy. The SHAs had to know about the ad-hoc committee’s activities thro’ media. They were frustrated and agitated.

This gave a lifeline to almost non-existing KPS Gill. With the help of 4, 5 police officers who head SHAs like Chandigarh, Punjab, Hyderabad and Jharkhand, he called a meeting in Delhi. He passed the accounts of last three years, but the treasurer (JN Tyagi) who prepared those accounts himself did not come for the meeting. Gill meeting was a sham, farce and failure. Knowlegeables claim Gill would have never dared to talk about hockey again, had the ad-hoc committee functioned well.

Many even claim the ad-hoc itself is interested to capture the Indian Hockey Federation. Now they have the power to time the election, and they will do it when things turn in favour of them. However, the emergence of Sahara group’s JB Roy in the scene upset their calculation.

JB Roy, who was elected president of the Bengal Hockey Association last year, organized a seminar in an exotic hill resort near Pune. The seminar was a cover to ascertain his support. He got 31 out of 41 SHAs.

But unfortunately, the Sahara is yet to divulge their plan how to improve hockey. In the last four years, they sponsored hockey teams with a small amount — Rs. 2.5 crore per year. However, it is a good sign after Naval Tata (1947-53) and MAM Ramasamy (1975-80), a businessman takes interest in hockey.

We never know what will happen to hockey in the near future, but as of now things are very bad. The Ad-hoc Committee and the Selection Committee are a big flop, liabilities on hockey sport.

Former Olympians are at the helm, but do they bother about present players? India won the junior Asia Cup in June, a month before that silver at the Azlan Shah Cup. The former players in the Committees never got them any reward. The winners are now dejected.

Ajit Pal and Co, assured transparency in their functioning. How come then national coaches are selected without advertising and interviewing interested coaches? They also selected 48 proabales without even organizing a single National Championship. The list is uninspiring, includes a player who is nephew of a selector (Ashok Kumar).

Ajit Pal shifts women coach to men’s coach, without even talking to the women’s Federation (IWHF). The IWHF is not interested in the honest coach Kaushik, but makes its an issue because the tactless officials gave them a rope. That Amrit Bose, the IWHF Secretary is a KPS Gill in skirt is a different matter, which we will deal in some other occasion.

Whether hockey will survive all these ongoing nonsense is a million dollar question.

Courtesy: Nai Dunia