Come on Hockey

Not long ago this has been the scenario. All other Indian sports were failing but hockey was winning. Now the role reversal is the order of the day. All other sports are winning and ironically hockey is falling. This is the pity and plight of Indian hockey.

Come on hockey. It’s time to wake up. It’s never late to shrug off the slumber.

Indian sportsmen are showing their colours and true potential in the new millennium as successes cascade their profiles as never before. Never did Indian sportsmen promise so much as it was manifest in the early part of the current year.

Viswanathan Anand gave India a crowning glory. He became the world chess champion recently. His glory doubles up as the first Asian ever to obtain this rarity. This feat he achieved a month ago at Teheran.

Abinav Bindra, still under 20, became the shooting champion of the recent European circuit. He is sponsored by the same institution that sponsored Indian hockey in a big way for the preparation of the Sydney Olympics – Oil and Natural Gas Corporation. It’s anytime for globe trotting golfer Jeev Milkha Singh from Chandigarh before he makes headlines other than creating putting records.

Junior Wimbledon Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi are already legendary figures in the contemporary sports history of India. While the former possess a Olympic bronze, the latter became the first Indian to win a grand slam – French Open Mixed Doubles. Pairing together, the duo had won many laurels. For a considerable length of period, they maintained their numero uno position as the world no one doubles pair. Once the tennis season starts, they will also throw wonderful results for India.

Come on hockey. Now it is time for you, the traditional torch bearer, to come back to limelight.

You also won two tournaments in the recent past, but not many did notice. The Asian School Games title and a 5-Nation Cairo Cup in Egypt. The two titles came in the span of a month. For the nation that considers anything less than Olympics gold in hockey , these meant nothing. Hardly one could witness a photo of winners in print, nor a clipping in any television channel.

It is needless and pointless to accuse the media of ignoring hockey even if such argument would have a trace of truth in it. For, one swallow does not make a summer.

Truly speaking, the hockey victories be it Perth 4-Nation (it was achieved defeating Germans in the final a month before the Olympics) or Cairo Cup did not stir up anybody’s consciousness. There was a reason for it. If one considers the number of tournaments India participate in a year, the victories are far less. There is no doubt about it. No other Indian team sport does take part in as many tournaments as hockey does. Thanks to the benevolence of Indian government, Sports Authority of India, hockey gets this kind of royal and preferential treatment. The former bears the air travel expense and the latter write off all preparatory camp expenses.

There is also no denying the fact that many sports administrators other than hockey nurture `step motherly treatment’ to their sports by the authorities. Wrestling and boxing federation officials are prominent in such a view which, to me, holds much water.

Yet, hockey often led every one down. Could not India capable of scoring two goals against Poland? In any day it’s possible but not when whole nation expects – in the crucial Olympics contest. This is a great flop. The whole nation was let down.

One can cite any number of such instances, then what is the use?

Players might point at Federation for all the ills and vice versa. These would enthuse only a few. It’s not what public wants. No Olympic sports in India seem to ran on professional lines and hockey is no different. Not many would have forgotten how a great player like Prakash Padukone had to bow down before the vice like officials in the fight for the control of Badminton Association of India. Again, you do not have shortage of instances of such nature.

I don’t justify the wayward and completely incompetent IHF in any manner. But only success that would bring players to the forefront can solve the problem of such nature.

Leave all. When every other sport is coming up, hockey should not lag behind. Catch up. Come on.

Will the 9-Nation Dhaka event mark a new dawn?
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INDIA LACKS NERVES

The Olympics in two parts. If a country has to shine in the summit, it has to excel in both. The first one ends with the completion of pool. India surely made noises in this phase without making tangiable gains of course. Ok. We have not qualified for the semis. The world does not with that. Then on India should have mustered gumption to face the second phase. This phase won’t give you any medal if you are not in the semi but will act as barometer of your mental strength. It is here again India flopped