CHENNAI: One step forward, but three steps back. That was the story of Indian hockey in the year gone by.
To say that Indian hockey is currently a rudderless ship caught in a storm on the high seas is to put it mildly. Matters have become worse with wolves in sheep’s clothing indulging in a coup of sorts to form Hockey India whose modus operandi, if not its very existence, is open to question.
For all purposes, the Indian Hockey Federation has been rendered defunct with the stroke of a pen as it were, as Suresh Kalmadi’s Indian Olympic Association used any and every pretext to take over the administration. The resultant chaos among the affiliated state units is to be seen to be believed.
Caught in these churning and frothing political waters, the sport took a backseat. India finished a poor fifth at the men’s Asia Cup and ninth in the junior World Cup. These results, shocking as they are, indicate a bleak immediate future though the sport still thrives by way of tournaments across the country.
The Indian women’s team provided a silver lining by finishing runners-up to China at the Asia Cup in Bangkok to qualify for the 2010 World Cup while nothing much can be read in the success at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament that included New Zealand, Pakistan, Malaysia and Egypt.
Spaniard Jose Brasa was eventually appointed national coach after months of dithering and bickering, but the failure to qualify for the elite Champions Trophy tournament despite a bronze in the qualifying competition in Argentina earlier this month reflected the true position of Indian hockey in the international pecking order.
Contributing to this depressing scenario was the reported “dissension” in the squad during a recent camp at Pune, contrary to the self-righteous denials. The fact that skipper Sandeep Singh was replaced by Rajpal Singh for no known reasons ahead of the campaign in Argentina was a clear indication that nothing was hunky-dory with the team.
The Indian men’s team played a couple of bilateral series in Canada and Argentina, but these ventures were of little value even if they provided some data on the form and fitness of players. On the one hand, the national selectors spoke about “developing” a new Indian team, but on the other, they brought back the very players who were part of the disastrous 2006 World Cup campaign when the side finished 11th out of 12 and were subsequently omitted.
Through the year, there was such uncertainty in the administration that even those on the inside could not differentiate one end of the stick from the other. The murky goings-on as the vested interests fight for control over Indian hockey cast a long shadow.
To top it, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) was guilty of pandering to the upstart Hockey India that was formed with the blessings of the IOA. The sport’s world governing body was hasty in granting recognition to the new unit that had no backing from the majority of the state associations. When the affiliated units of the erstwhile IHF went up in arms, the FIH realised its folly.
In the meantime, Hero Honda consented to be the title sponsors for the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi. However, with no legitimately elected administrative body in place, the FIH slapped a November 18 deadline for fresh elections to Hockey India, a pre-condition to India’s participation in the World Cup. Here too problems arose and the FIH agreed to shift the deadline to one month prior to the start of the World Cup (February 28).
Indian hockey’s fortunes on and off the field nosedived during the year. The sport suffered not so much for want of talent but more due to the absence of a viable system, much less vision or direction, and that is not saying anything new.