Mumbai
THINKING OF Indian hockey nowadays is a rollercoaster ride from despair to hope.
Having wallowed in despair over the last few months following the Olympic qualifiers disaster and bribery scandal, thoughts of the abundant talent in the country, the recent Junior Asia Cup victory and the changes in Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) set-up gives hope that everything is not lost yet.

But had you ventured into the Mumbai Hockey Association’s Mahindra Stadium for the final of the 8th All India Guru Tegh Bahadur Gold Cup Tournament between Air India and the Indian Oil on Monday, the feeling of be ing on a a roller coaster would have hit you.

Hope soars as you watch two young penalty corner experts flicking superbly to share six of the nine goals scored on the day . Sandeep Singh scored four goals to help Air India to 54 win against Indian Oil for which V Raghunath contributed a brace.

The future looks rosy as you applaud young, wiry Bharat Chikara, who zigzagged through the rival defence to score a superb solo goal.

But then despair creeps up as old maladies like umpiring blunders, players misbehaving with officials and fellow players’ questioning of every decision by the men with whistles and scenes of officials having to placate the players and team officials are played out on the ground.

The fact that the match involved two premier teams of the country, which among themselves have put nearly 30 players who have represented India at the international level, adds to the sense of irony .

But then your belief in future of In dian hockey remains intact from the manner in which Air India fought back from 0-3 deficit to not only level scores but also to win 5-4 with Sandeep Singh scoring the winner with two minutes to go. And through the solid defense put up by Indian Oil goalkeeper Baljit Singh and his counterpart Adrian D’Souza. Though Baljit conceded five goals, he saved nearly half-dozen good chances created by their rivals.

“The umpiring took away the sheen from what could have been a great match. My boys also made some silly mistakes and allowed them to fight back,” said Indian Oil coach Devesh Chauhan.

Air India coach Harendra Singh hailed his team’s fighting spirit that helped it win their second title on the trot after the Murugappa Gold Cup in Chennai last week.