Some people never improve. And we have another one in the inglorious list. He first tried to spoil the team that someone else painstakingly developed over sweat and toil. And when the team does reasonably well despite his antics, he comes out with a bizarre statement that the team did not do well, and it was because a particular player had played spoil sport.
The ‘particular player’ the run of the mill official talks about is none other than living legend Dilip Tirkey and the official who accuses him of not giving the best in the recently concluded Premier Hockey League is Orissa Steelers’s manager Satpati, who is also Secretary of the Orissa State Hockey Association.
Defending champions Orissa Steelers lost the semifinals of the PHL on shoot out after a fantastic comeback after losing first three matches very narrowly. Any one who watched the proceedings at Chandigarh would vouchsafe that the Orissa Steelers’ show was reasonable and losing the semis on shoot out it is not that bad at all.
And we, who were at Chandigarh, know that the Steelers’ show improved leap and bounds once injured and recovered Dilip Tirkey took on the field third match onwards. OS got their first full points only after his return. Truth being as such, the manager gave two reasons for the so called poor show of the Steelers. One, injured Dilip did not play well, and did not gel with the team. Two, the former coach AK Bansal who is presently Junior India coach, has tried to divide the team with the help of some of his favourites.
On the face of it, both of his views does not stand close scrutiny. Firstly, OS’s was not a bad show by any standard in a tournament where giants like Maratha Warriors and Sher-e-Jallandhar could not reach the semis. OS had one of the best forwards and defenders on view, what with Pramod, Roshan Minz, Pakistan’s Shakeel Abbas and Ignace Tirkey tearing apart the defenders. They scored some spectacular goals, a brace of goals by Abbasi against Warriors, and a peach of goal by Ignace from left top of circle against the Shers were in particular set the sector 42 stadium turf on flame; and will be etched in memory for long.
So, Satpaty’s explanation on why his team failed to defend the title speaks poor of his understanding of the game, if at all the sport is his priority. Remember, the small time lawyer is worked last three months with a sole objective of not taking 2007’s successful coach AK Bansal despite players’ open displeasure on this score.
Casting aspersions on the feat of Dilip Tirkey, who has been nominated among the FIH World’s Top 18 players twice, is just the type of actions the so-called minnow officials are not tired of taking. And, thankfully, nobody is buying his arguments.
Instead of casting aspersions on a player, Satpathy should spare time to think why his team lost three Shoot Outs in eight matches. Were the choices for shoot out forwards made, were correct and stuff like that.
But, for that he has to come out of mud slinging mood for which there is not scope in the first place, for, the Steelers did well there in Chandigarh and those who know the sport acknowledge this.