Tough to believe

THE ISSUE:
Reports that a hockey match between India and Malaysia was fixed has further deepened the crisis
in the sport.

The ghosts of match-fixing have come to haunt India and Malaysia although such allegations in the case of hockey games are hard to believe. Hockey is a small money game unlike cricket and international football. India and Malaysia were both suspects at the 1992 Olympic qualifiers in Barcelona. It may also be recalled that Canada had kicked up a nasty row when it failed to qualify for the Atlanta Games because of an alleged “pact of non-aggression” that saw India and Malaysia make half-hearted attempts to score in a 0-0 draw. A tribunal of the International Hockey Federation didn’t find any evidence against India and gave it a clean chit.
But this time, the allegation is quite sensational because the governing body of the Malaysian Hockey Federation has itself accused several unnamed players of fixing a match against India in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup on 12 May. Confident of its own capability, India, has denied any involvement of its players in match-fixing. It is well known that when India took on Malaysia, the latter had lost three matches. Given the performance of the Malaysian players, India was expected to win.
ASABARI SEN,
30 June, Santiniketan.

Exemplary punishment

The tabloid Malay Mail published sensational allegations that some Malaysian players tanked a match against India in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup last month. India won 2-1. The allegations have not been proved yet and the Malaysian hockey authorities are investigating them. However, the fact is that when India played the match Malaysia had already lost three matches. This is the first time match-fixing is being associated with hockey. Exemplary punishment is the right answer to uprooting this problem.
ASOK KUMAR BHATTACHARYA,
1 July, Kolkata.

No future

The reports that a hockey match between India and Malyasia was fixed have further deepened the crisis in the sport. Due to politicking and other factors hockey is already in a mess. Just when things seem to be looking up after a few good performances, politics in higher places has been messing up everything. It is because of this that the players fail to perform satisfactorily. Things have further worsened with the players’ attraction to financial rewards and the entry of profit-minded sponsors. With the crisis deepening, things now threaten to go out of control. The government has a role to play but is totally apathetic. Hockey is now a poor cousin to other sports. Unless something is done now, the game has no future.
DEBASHIS SEN,
30 June, Kolkata.

Conspiracy

After shamefully failing to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, India had done well in the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament. The match-fixing allegations were a bolt from the blue. Indian coach Ajay Kumar Bansal and the chairman of the selection committee, Aslam Sher Khan, have denied the allegations. The whole affair seems to be a conspiracy against the Indian team.
PIJUS KANTI SARKAR,
30 June, Narendrapur.

Save the game

We are oblivious to the fact that hockey was the sport that helped us win medals in international tournaments. Hockey players didn’t earn much but they always came out with flying colours. Now hockey is in a limbo. The stigma of match-fixing in a game between India and Malaysia may kill the game.
TARAKDAS MAJUMDER,
1 July, Kolkata