waiting to be rescued

those who assumed that Indian hockey couldn’t slip any further after the national team faltered in the Olympic qualifier in Santiago and failed to qualify for the Beijing Games have been proved wrong. Those who believed that the game would be on the upswing after the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) disbanded the KPS Gill-led Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) have found their hopes misplaced. change? what change? The signs emerging from the ad hoc committee in charge of Indian hockey during its six-month-long tenure aren’t encouraging. If the resignation of Federation of International Hockey (FIH)-appointed technical consultant Ric Charlesworth was catalysed by the committee’s indecision, the MK Kaushik episode, wherein he had no choice but to turn down the offer to coach the national men’s team, exposed the lack of communication in the administrative process.

That isn’t all. It is difficult to ignore the internal power dynamics that reportedly caused Aslam Sher Khan to resign from the committee, or that the committee, comprising many former Olympians, failed to offer any reward of substance to the team that won the Junior Asia Cup or the men who helped India finish second in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

Equally appalling was the selection of 48 probables for the Indian team without a national-level senior championship being organised. While a few tried and tested senior players were omitted from the first draft, some of them were subsequently included. The selectors insisted that selection to this list of probables was based on performances in the Junior Asia Cup, the Azlan Shah Cup and various domestic tournaments. However, there has been no domestic tournament of national significance since the ad hoc committee’s formation. The only tournament of consequence that has been held is the privately-organised All-India MCC Murugappa Hockey Championship, for which none of the selectors bothered to come and watch the players in action.

Those who argued that former players would make better administrators than politicians have reason to feel let down.

If chaos strangles what was once India’s national sport, it is because of a lack of direction and vision that has been magnified by an ad hoc administration. “While constitutionally-elected administrators would lend authenticity to the committee, a sense of direction could solve half the issues. Inspirational leadership is the need of the hour,” says former Olympian Vasudevan Baskaran. a new power struggle Amidst all this, the Gill-led suspended federation convened a general body meeting on September 17, claiming an attendance of 20-25 affiliated members. While the petition that Gill has filed against the legitimacy of the IOA’s decision to suspend him is slated to come up for hearing on December 4, a return to the Gill days, even if the IHF is reinstated, is only a far-fetched possibility . Nonetheless, if the ad hoc committee seemingly does not have any clearcut plans, Gill does, and will try his best to show he is still a force to reckon with whenever elections are held to put together a body to run hockey .

Among other names in the fray who have an eye on becoming the top man in the hockey administration are IOA president Suresh Kalmadi and JB Roy, who is the president of the Bengal State Hockey Association and the brother of Subrata Roy of the Sahara Group. Roy recently organised a high-profile seminar on ‘developing Indian hockey’ at Amby Valley in Pune, to which the cream of the Indian hockey fraternity was invited. Quite clearly , there is a lot at stake in Indian hockey . high on hope Though it hasn’t conducted any national-level domestic tournaments, the committee has chalked out abstract plans to organise international tournaments, apart from revamping existing junior and national-level events. The committee claims to have procured the consent of the FIH to organise a four-nation hockey tournament featuring Pakistan, Holland and Germany in February 2009. With the hockey World Cup slated to be held in New Delhi in 2010, it won’t be surprising if top teams visit India to get a feel of the conditions. Apart from facilitating international exposure for the players, the 2010 hockey World Cup would be the ideal tournament to gauge Team India’s progress after the Santiago nightmare. But to expect better than average results in the World Cup would be overly optimistic.

Quite in tune with India’s inconsistency over the past three decades, the team’s performance since the Santiago nightmare has been varied. While India finished at the bottom of the heap in the twin-legged four-nation invitational tournament in Australia, a side primarily comprising youngsters finished runner-up at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. Selection committee chairman Ajit Pal Singh reasons that this is the starting point of Indian hockey’s resurgence and calls for patience.

“It has to be a step-by-step process. We have appointed a coach and support staff and drawn up a pool of players whom we think are the best in the country . We are current ly in the process of identifying a pool of younger players and drafting national and international calendars for Indian hockey . Our priority is to bring transparency to the day-to-day running of the game. If our plans work out, there is no reason why we shouldn’t be a medal contender at the 2012 Olympics,” says Ajit Pal. easier said than done The reality is that India trails top teams like Australia, Germany , Holland and Spain in various aspects, and while the national side is capable of springing a surprise or two, it can’t match top teams on a regular basis. In fact, India is invariably hard pressed to put it across Argentina, New Zealand, Belgium and South Africa — teams that are taking brisk strides forward in international hockey . That India couldn’t win a medal at the 2006 Asian Games clearly shows that it is slipping even in Asia, where Japan and China are fast closing in.

Coach-in-charge Harender Singh, who was part of the ‘team of observers’ sent to the Beijing Games by the IOA and has seen the fitness levels and playing standards of the top teams first-hand, chooses to tone down his optimism.

Realising that he must act immediately , Harender called for a camp in Bangalore and declared that only the fittest would survive. “The selectors have given almost every player a chance. I intend to conduct physiological and biomechanical tests on all the players to ensure that everyone in the team is fit. Depth and versatility are important, but with three major events in 2010 — the World Cup, the Commonwealth and the Asian Games — I need only those players who can survive the rigours of these three tournaments,” says Harender.

Despite being coach-in-charge of the national team, Harender could soon be relegated to being deputy coach if the committee finds a foreign coach.

This would be in line with India’s tendency to change coaches with alarming frequency . In such a scenario, it won’t be surprising if India finish es at the bottom of the table in the 2010 World Cup. In fact, the players are upset with this frequent change in coaches and some of them hint that, despite enjoying the advantage of playing at home, India could falter in the 2010 World Cup. “Such frequent changes are unsettling. Each coach is different and so is his strategy and perspective. Players have to change their style accordingly and this can be frustrating,” says goal-keeper Baljit Singh.

Given that the same coach, AK Bansal, has been persisted with for the junior side despite the change in regime, many feel that Carvalho could have been asked to continue his duties with the senior side.

But of course, logic has no place in Indian hockey.

sandipgopal@gmail.com