Poor show in Azlan Shah is a concern, says Maken

Union Sports Minister has raised concerns over Indian hockey team’s below-par performance at the just concluded Azlan Shah tournament. The two time defending champions, eventually finished sixth, after squandering leads against Pakistan (1-3) and New Zealand (3-7).

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of inaugurating the Hockey Training for children under “Come and Play Scheme” at the National Stadium, the minister said the timing of team’s dip in form ahead of Olympics qualifiers was disconcerting.

“It is a matter of concern for all of us the way Indian hockey team has performed at the Azlan Shah Cup tournament. In two editions before this, we were the champions and I had hoped that this year also we would win the tournament,” he said.

“We have two most important tournaments coming up — the Champions Trophy and the Olympic qualifiers. And unless we qualify, our run to the Olympics would be over as far as the hockey is concerned,” he added.

Minister added that both the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and National Sports Federations have to be made more accountable. “I have said earlier also that we would not like the government to be intrusive, we will ensure that any intrusive provision in the bill should be removed. We will also try to place some responsibility on SAI because it also needs to be accountable. It also has to play a very important role,” Maken said

“There is a lot of scope for improvement as far as SAI is concerned. So, it is not only the National Sports Federations only which we would like to give some targets but also to the SAI,” he explained.