India’s tryst with World Cup

Despite jointly putting forth the World Cup proposal to the conservative FIH, which took a decade to decide, both India and Pakistan became epicentre of controversies when the World Cup has just born.

The Bangladesh war, which India won decisively against Pakistan, turned out to be the root cause of all trouble between then hockey giants; hate speeches of leaders hogging the headlines.

Ultimately, the event had to be moved to Barcelona where Pakistan defeated India in the semis before the winning the gold.

India avenged the defeat two years later in Amsterdam, BP Govinda coming up with the winner in the semis against Pakistan, though India thereafter succumbed to the hosts in the final.

1975 number was allotted to India, but the change of guard in the Mumbai Hockey Association and the unseemingly hatred campaign launched by the Delhi lobby to host the event, led the event taken to a neutral place, Malaysia.

This humiliation did not matter for the Ajit Pal Singh led India, which won the Cup after a big gaffe in the semis, and then due to a controversial goal in the final. Losing Pakistan launched an unheard levels of accuasation on umpiring, the butt being the ethnic Indian officiating as umpire in the final.

So be it.

1978 World Cup, held after three years from Malaysia, did not prove any status to the defending champions, having lost humiliating defeats in the league.

India was billed to do well when it hosted the event at Cricket stadium in Mumbai, but Surjit Singh’s India failed to reach the finals.

Next World Cup was held five years later, a quixotic scheduling by the FIH, only to see the former giants India and Pakistan had to play both Asian Games and World Cup in short gap.

India, or for that matter any Asian Country should have seen to it the World Cup is not hosted in the Asian Games year, but the vision was not there.

Both India and Pakistan who for the first time failed to be in the final of the Asian Games at Seoul, had a nightmarish World Cup in England.

Tired and motivation less, Md. Shahid’s India finished last, Pakistan winning the 11th place decider.

Then the World Cup returned to Asia, this time to Pakistan, who donated the Cup in the first place.

India improved two position, with a win over Canada, while Pakistan ten position, losing the final only to the precision machine Bovelander. The Netherlands, converted two out of three penalty corners to win the hosts amidst a record 60k crowd.

Sydney number was a great leap for India. Trained by Cedric D’Souza and led by Jude Felix, India finished at fifth.

Its fortune would have been better had only its left-half Shakeel Ahamad not failed thrice penalty strokes, each in different game.

Indian hockey again went into recession at Utrecht, where, facing Netherlands and Germany in the first two outings, India proved to be a bundle of nerves. Neither did injured captain Dhanraj Pillay nor still-to-recover star striker Rajeev Misra, hero at the Junior World Cup at Milton Keyness a year ago, were threat to no team except to their own.

India was well placed with the likes of Japan, Korea, Malaysia in the 8-team Pool A in Malaysia in 2002, and in an Asian Games like environ, India was expected to do well, having been trained and team selected in Ipoh.

It was not to be.

India could barely draw Japan in the opener and then went on to lose to Malaysia and Korea, victory coming only against Cuba, around which KPS Gill and his depty K Jothikumaran have changed the coaching staff.

Sacking of Cedric D’Souza, man of Sydney World Cup, is unfortunately the lasting memory of India’s second Malaysian world cup.

A small town in Europe, Monchegladbach hosted the next number. Indian fate decided early on there. Within 36 hours India lost two matches, and thus went out of medal race. What really mattered to the Baskaran and Harendra duo is the goal that the hosts struck a couple of seconds left for the hooter. This win gave Germany 3-2 booster, a draw which was well on card would have given India a right push. India ultimately won only one match, that was against South Africa in the 11th place decider. By winning this, India qualified for the Champions Challenge.

FIH was generous later to allot the World Cup to India, latching on to the huge sum government of India was willing to spend in renovating National stadium and bearing cost of World Cup as a part of preparation for the Commonwealth Games.

Indian hockey team, that hogged the limelight in the run up to the home World Cup, with players en masse walking out of training camp in Pune, and the Ad-hoc Committee having no clue not only about the impending strike but also in crisis management, did create a flutter when the world assembled for the World Cup.

Spaniard Jose Brasa’s India kept up its record of not losing to Pakistan, and the opener was the kind of the opening any host nation would have liked to. India steamrolled Pakistan and surely set the new turf on Dhyan Chand stadium on fire.

Alas, it was the last win in Delhi.

India went on to lose every other match rather tamely, climaxing with Argentina, which scored three goals in the last ten minutes in the last match.

Captain Rajpal Singh, a pro-administration spokesperson, and the frank-speaking coach Brasa could not offer any valid reason for the Indian rout.

With this history in the background, India sets out to The Hague, with coaches and management striking low on the prospects – and even in setting target.