Rajay Deep

Tribune News Service

Olympian and Director, Sports, Punjab, Pargat Singh, who is now the honorary secretary of the unified Hockey, Punjab, has expressed concern over the pathetic state of hockey in Punjab and sees a long journey ahead before the game can be revived.

In an exclusive interaction with The Tribune, Pargat Singh said, “As I have been given the responsibility of unified hockey, I personally feel that it requires a lot of change. To revive the game, we will have to start from the grassroots level.”

Terming the recent merger as a boon, Pargat said, “It is our luck that all the four bodies controlling hockey in Punjab have been merged to form a unified Hockey Punjab. Though it was done to comply with the directions of the International Hockey Federation to Hockey India to bring all hockey bodies under one roof with a single controlling authority of the game in the country, it will give its best results in Punjab, which is one of the first few states to follow the directive.”

When asked about the coaching factor, he said it was the most important part of the game. “If the players do not get an efficient coach, it will create hurdles in the skill development of the players. Sensing its importance, we are focusing on introducing new and well qualified coaches in Punjab,” he said.

Sepaking further, Pargat Singh said, “Besides, there should be a good and suitable calendar for the game not just at the state level but also at the national level, which would produce an overall strong national team, by picking the cream among the players from all over the country.”

Replying to a query on marketing policies, Pargat said, “We are aware about the role of finance in boosting a game and in hockey, it is apparent that at present we are lagging far behind. Though the game suits the taste of investors, being a spectators’ game like cricket, they are not investing money in advertisements. Whenever we ask, they give a simple excuse that our game and teams need much improvement before they can invest without fear.”