THE five-interlaced-ring Olympic insignia, tattooed on Prabhjot Singh’s left bicep, is a gloomy reminder of Indian hockey’s decadence. After India failed to qualify for the Olympics for the first time in its history the winger might have tried his best to erase the tattoo.
But tattoos are hard to efface.

All the same, life has to move on. Just like we shouldn’t always bask in the glory of erstwhile resplendence, we shouldn’t harp and pine overly on our downfalls. So exorcising the debacle that was Santiago, Indian hockey players are looking forward.

A whole lot of national team members, discards and contenders have descended in Chennai for the Murugappa Gold Cup, the first major campaign of the new season. They are eager to start the new season on the right note. Agrees VR Raghunath, one of India’s better drag-flickers, “We are all fresh and looking forward to starting our season on a winning note. What has happened has happened. We cannot change it. But there are lots more we can do. We are only focused on the pres ent and not the past.” The hurt of Santiago fiasco was so much so that many players opted out (some were dropped) of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup squad and the quadrangular tournament in Australia. Meanwhile, new coach Ajay Kumar Bansal, with a squad largely drawn from the colts, claimed silver in Ipoh. This was before the junior team defended the Asia Cup in Hyderabad. “So there are a lot of good things happening in Indian hockey.

Younger players are coming up and the competition is intense. It’s good for In dian hockey ,” pointed out Devesh Singh Chauhan, former India goalkeeper.

With no international fixture in the near future, the onus is clearly on local tournaments. “It’s the best place to re gain our confidence. It keeps you match fit and is the ideal stage to experiment with new strategies. All top countries have a strong domestic circuit. So it is important that India too nurture a strong field and national players should take part if they don’t have any inter national fixture,” said Chauhan.

Planning for the hectic year—2010— should kick-start sooner than later. As many as three major events, the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the World Cup—beckon them in 2010. That India is hosting the Commonwealth Games and World Cup makes it even more important. A solid performance in all three, especially in the World Cup, will revive Indian hockey.