Sept. 3: These are uncertain times for Indian hockey. Directionless and captainless, the country’s national game is doddering on choppy waters. Missing the Beijing Olympics is now history. It’s time to start the preparations for the 2010 World Cup, but the signs are not encouraging.

FIH president Els van Breda Vriesman has said her tenure would be a failure if she demits office without seeing India among world’s elite. Disappointment is in store for the FIH boss if the state of hockey in India now is any indication. Gill is gone; Jothi is entangled in a web of a TV sting operation, but there are no positive signals from the ad-hoc body headed by IOA president Suresh Kalmadi.

But hope is eternal. The 84th MCC-Murugappa gold cup all-India tournament was off with a traditional curtain raiser at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Wednesday. MCC’s seasoned stars including V. Baskaran, Mohd. Riaz and B.P. Govinda took on The Hindu, a first division team, and produced a competitive result, 4-4.

Govinda, a firebrand forward in the 70s, is not an intimidating sight now. With a paunch that hits you on the first look and a troublesome left leg, the Coorg-native moves at a sedate pace on the ground. But he has not lost his fire as a competitor. He maybe on the wrong side of 60 but his spirit on the ground will put a 20-year-old to shame. Govinda, playing in his customary left-in position, scored a goal and created many opportunities for his teammates. Despite his physical limitations, he rolled back the years to give a glimpse how he would have played in his prime. The touch was there so as the will to win.

Indian Bank sports officer Stephen Balasamy, who had played with the former Indian star, says: “Govinda’s USP was spirit in his playing days. His fierce competitive edge hasn’t been blunted by the passage of years. I can see the old Govinda today.”

M.S. Neelakantan, a die-hard hockey fan, says he enjoyed the show. “It was supposed to be a fun game. But it was as competitive as it could get. I was amazed by Govinda’s passion. Imagine playing hockey, which is a young man’s game today, at the age of 60. Hats off to Govinda,” he adds.

In the MCC-Murugappa tournament proper, IOC will take on IOB, followed by a match between Air India and Army XI on Thursday evening. Players should forget the chaos in hockey administration and take a leaf out of Govinda’s book and produce a passion play to herald the national game’s first step towards revival in the all-India event.