EDITORIAL: A recent decision by Hockey India – setting up a mammoth size committee to oversee and make opinion on Indian hockey’s performance especially the ongoing World Cup – is uncalled for.

A national governing body issued an official statement midway through a tournament. It has put its national team in an awkward position. This is unfortunate. This is the difficult situation the Indian team here is in here in The Hague.

Hockey India announced setting up of a 11-member committee which will take up everyone associated with the present Indian world cup team, and some parameters thereto is set out. The announcement made public after India lost to Australia, has put the team in bad light. Its good that the team still remained focused on the job, and came out with one of the best displays, that was against Korea.

The timing was hurting. It was announced even India has to play one more match. This is not the way for parent body that affectionately organize send off party before every World Cup or Olympics. The world media, well versed with the our hockey adminos, developed curious interest on the issue, and almost speculate the future of coaching staff. World media’s interest on India is huge thanks to it hosting many tournaments and the big money in the Hockey India league. Coming close on the unwanted and distasteful views of Dhanraj Pillay, Hockey India’s emotional but not-so-mature approach, further vitiate the atmosphere, fuelling speculation.

The official statement also says that but for one goalkeeper India would have played for still below ranks. This is poor portrayal of Indian team’s performance. Not a good understanding and analysis either. Hockey is a team game, the team wins or loses. Singling out one player for win or defeat , though the intention was different, like often media does, is both unethical and unprofessional. It does neither good to the player concerned nor to the team spirit. Same way we can now interpolate that but for Akashdeep Singh India would have lost many matches, after all he is top scorer for India. Akashdeep or for that matter any other forward, get the feed from someone else — like Sardar Singh, SV Sunil against Korea for instance — and he only gives a finishing touch. Everything in hockey is a combined effort.

Of all the things what surprises, and brings tragedy to the issue in question, is not just the timing, not just the intension, not just the misplaced priorities, not just the immature analysis of team’s performance but the unprofessionalism that it brings with it.

India hired best coaches and brains at hefty cost. Who will take a call on the quality of their services and deliveries? The eleven member committee? What is their competency?

The are all old Olympians, most of them in the mid 60s, and those who don’t keep pace with modern hockey. And the most important, but most embarrassing question: what are their coaching credentials?

Harbinder Singh for long was our women’s coach, delivered nothing. Ajit Pal was the coach of the Indian team that finished last in the 1986 World Cup team, where Rich Charlesworth and Terry Walsh won their gold. Col Balbir Singh also coached Indian women to last position in a World Cup.

These people cannot judge anyone, as they are completely out of place, and are not in sync with modern game.

They have, by and large, been advising Indian administrators for over three decades, and all we know where it has all led to.

Hockey India has improved administration from one-man-one-typewriter IHF to functional, professional setup that it is now.

It has brought money into the game, and opened doors of commercialism through Hockey India League.

But its time it leave technical matters to technical people for whom huge PUBLIC money is being spent.

Only two people are accountable for team’s performance. Firstly, the professional CEO of Hockey India to see whether are there any lapses from administrative point of view when the team made its preparatory programs. Secondly, the highly paid professional High Performance Director.

The concerned HI communication gives an impression that this effort – committee and all – is being made in the wake of poor results of The Hague.

What was the expectation then? Was India projected by anybody, even remotely, to be a team of semifinal? Chief coach Terry Walsh was on record before the team left India that 8th position will be a reality. So was it.

Not in the last two decades did India defeat Korea in any major tournaments the way it did here in the Hague. It was not a fluke.

The has been playing a particular style, which almost made leading teams like Belgium and England to struggle for win. First two games were touch and go affair. The game gave positive signals that it plays with a structure, patience is back, set plays coming off perfectly. Perfection in penalty corner was the only shortcoming in terms of getting and converting.

India was outplayed only by Australia (0-4), and if one have witnessed Dutch in the final, the quality of Australia would have been properly understood.

So, the point, is that India showed improvement match after match, though results were not coming the way it should have been, but it blossomed with the clean sweep of Korea. Had we not improved match after match here, we would not have contained Australia to 0-4, and then made 3-0 of Korea.

We have defeated both Asians here, Malaysia and Korea, and thus built up a huge advantage in the preparation for the forthcoming Asian Games, which is our target tournament. We drew Japan, lost to Korea and Malaysia in the 2002 World Cup for instant.

HI need to look at the positives, but unfortunately played into the hands of terminally negative minded hockey critics, who never foresee a future for hockey.

Hockey India has certainly made a mistake by taking a hurried, popular and face-saving step. This will not help our hockey to come back.

By all means, it seems, HI will listen to the ‘wisdom’ of most of oldies.

This is the worrying factor for those who spend their personal fortune to be where action is, and make genuine and proper analysis.

This is technically and morally not proper the likes of Terry Walsh and Roelant Oltmans will be judged by the oldies whose wisdom and selection of team have time and again been proved fatal to India.

This is really a pathetic back to wall situation.