Ashok Kumar laments his absence at Delhi function
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Ashok Kumar, who scored the match-winning goal against Pakistan in India’s World Cup triumph in Kuala Lumpur in 1975, on Tuesday lamented his absence in Delhi to share the nostalgia with his teammates during a function held on Monday.
The occasion was the announcement by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) of the title sponsor for the World Cup to be held here next year.
Away in Bhopal, where he trains young hockey players, Ashok Kumar, who scored that sensational goal in a flash of brilliance, said: “I wish I was there.” He rued the fact that he missed an occasion to be together with his old mates, especially B.P. Govinda, his dashing partner in the frontline those days.
Ashok said that he was called by a lady to inform that he was invited for “some FIH meeting.”
He added: “Had she told me that it was a function where the 1975 team members were being felicitated, I would have tried to make it.”
Grassroots training
Talking about his current activities, Ashok said he was involved at the grassroots level. “We have a lot to do, especially in areas where honesty is required in picking the right players; players who don’t have godfathers.
“I don’t understand the intricacies and politics of the hockey administration but I know that the plum positions are not for the players who brought glory to the nation.”
Elaborating further, Ashok said: “There are people who are happy with just organising camps, tours and justifying their positions. Hockey is much more than all this. Who is scouting for talent?
“There is actually none to take steps in the right direction. The administrators would show you the World Cup triumph as achievements, but it means little to me.”
The Hindu