Part of Two of Review of Bombay Gold Cup by Deepak Sheth

NEGATIVES

1.There were hardly any spectators in the stadium, which is a crying shame. It certainly did not do justice to the tremendous effort & skill that was on display, in all aspects of the conduct of the tournament, from the players to officials to announcers to ceremonies to the officiating. India hockey fans, for a game that is played even now with such tremendous skill, where thrills abound at a breathtaking pace, where a group of diehard players ,officials & count on your fingers, fans, brave innumerable odds, including the suffocating & senseless pressure of cricket mania, to plod on, to work & take part in the game they love & are not afraid to stand up for it , you are worthy of being disappointed.

2.Lack of old players, SCOUTS & SELECTORS, so how will you find the Mangeshs’ of Indian hockey, if you do not see any games.

3. No TV cameras, do not tell me DDR that even Coorg, Chota Nagpur & Punjab have no interest in hockey. I do not believe you.

4.Very little combo play from any team in fact I did not see any team put together a string of 3 consecutive passes amongst their team members. Every time there was a combo play it created danger for their opponent. IN fact Western Railway took the lead from such a play but lost their game 1-9.

5.Too many hard hits down the center of the pitch that were difficult to control.

6.Too little communication on the pitch except Mahadik & Mangesh.

7.Tactically most teams were poor & rolling substitutions were inadequately utilized, to give players a much needed rest.

8.Changing direction of play depending on the traffic clogging the field, trying to find the open man in order to create a numerical advantage, was deficient.

9.Too many touches on the ball allowing the opponents to recover, too many mistraps, except for Indian Oil.

In conclusion the wheels of Indian hockey towards modernity are turning but slowly, youngsters like Mahadik will be the catalysts & show tremendous promise, THERE IS NO DEARTH OF HOCKEY TALENT BUT I SUSPECT TEACHING IS AT A PREMIUM & SUPPORT OF PLAYERS FROM YESTERYEARS IS POOR