S. Thyagarajan

CHENNAI: A headless wonder, which is Indian hockey in the present persona, could not have envisaged a more poignant ending to the year. Apologists are prone to trumpet the podium finish in the Champions Challenge last week as a sign of resurgence in an otherwise dismal phase.

In a must-win competition to make the grade, even a second place is of no relevance just akin to the irrelevance of winning the Aslan Shah Trophy that featured no European outfit and the regular participant, Australia.

Even granting the contrived euphoria over the victory in Ipoh, the failure to build on that mood caused an enormous dent. If Santiago signalled the disaster last year denying India the chance to be in the Olympics at Beijing, Kuantan spelt out the rot that had set in. For the first time, India failed to be in the semifinals of the Asia Cup; and the fifth place only confirmed the appalling state of affairs.

Too short a time

This was the time when the foreign coach, Jose Brasa, sauntered in, charged with the task of changing the destiny of the national game. Attempting to assess Brasa in a space of around six months will result in flawed judgement. It is not that the Spaniard was unaware of the complexities of coaching an Indian national team. He was ready for the challenge, perhaps prompted by the desire to stamp in a new system, blending European aggression with the Asian touch.

To cover up any of the perceived lacunae, Brasa utilised the news-hungry media to punch and pillory the bureaucratic control over the sport, listing the problems of procuring the equipment asked for from the authorities bound by the notorious red tape.

Every time the national team assembled for a camp, the situation was tailor-made for an irritant or two that got exaggerated to the point of affecting not only the morale of the coach but the players as well. Well planned though, the tours undertaken at enormous expense and with the blessings of the very obliging sports ministry did not evoke much public enthusiasm.

India embarked on several tours and the results obtained at best were mixed.

Viewed on a larger perspective, the year that is rolling out can, at best, be seen as unrewarding. With the administration in tatters, and with no competition offering a proper scope to unearth new talent at any level, the results were anything but striking.

Even the youth team failed to make the grade at Myanmar, while the junior men finished a poor ninth at the World Cup.

In the absence of a larger pool, the selectors had to limit their choice to a pool of 30-35 tired and worn-out players, constantly sifting and shuffling combinations without rhyme or reason. Almost throughout, everything proved pure experimentation and how much inputs from the coach went into the training remains in the realm of guess.

Most disturbing was the report of a player revolt prior to the departure for the Champions Challenge and the controversy over the role of Sandeep Singh as captain. He was the outstanding player on the tour of Canada in the conversion of penalty corners.

If that is the case where was the need for the coach to alter Sandeep’s style, or handling of the stick as portrayed in the media?

The focus will continue to be on the men’s squad in view of the World Cup and also the subsequent Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. It is best to remain aloof without hazarding a guess on how well India can perform based on the results obtained in 2009.