Indian Hockey Going Places...

Indian Hockey Going Places...

Hockey is the only event in which India has won Gold Medals - eight of them. Hockey was considered the National Game of India. Unmatched excellence and incomparable virtuosity brought India a string of Olympic gold medals. The brilliant Indians brought a touch of black magic to their play and the ball juggling feats of the Indians were a sheer delight.
The Golden Era of hockey in India was the period from 1928 - 1956 when India won six consecutive gold medals in the Olympics. During the Golden Era, India played 24 Olympic matches, won all 24. The two other gold medals for India came in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
This was the time India dominated world hockey and none of the teams could match the quality that was seen in Indian Hockey. The score lines like 12-0, 15-0 was very common for the matches won by India. Zillions of hockey fans all over the world idolized the Dyanchand’s and the Mukesh Kumar’s- the magicians with sticks.
When we look at all this, we proudly say that India dominated World Hockey. However, when we see the condition of Indian hockey today, one would really question, was India ever a superpower in world hockey?
Indian hockey in last decade has gone from bad to worst. The situation of the Indian Hockey can be summed up by the fact that the team has seen as many as eleven coaches in last ten years! Moreover, rumours are now spreading that the IHF is now eyeing to hire another foreign coach in place of current coach of the team, Rajinder Singh Jr. We really cannot blame the coaches for the dismal show put on by the National team. The IHF should give the coaches a long time span to spend with the team. Before the coaches adjust to the conditions in Indian Hockey, they are sacked. The IHF needs to change its policy to hire coaches for a tournament or two and should give them long-term contracts.
Also to be blamed are the players for the downfall of Indian Hockey. It is seen very often that the players tend to play for themselves rather than playing for the team. The unity in the Indian Hockey team is not visible and this is one of the major reasons for India not winning the matches.

The present situation in the domestic hockey circuit is also a shame for Indian Hockey. The fracas between players of Namdhari XI and Indian Oil Corporation in the recently concluded Jawaharlal Nehru Tournament where there was fight between the two sides, so bad that the teams hit eachother with hockey sticks. Whatever be the provocation, this is symbolic of the malaise that is creeping into competitive hockey, especially in this country.
Even to be blamed are the younger generation of the country. The sport has hardly seen any faces from the metros of the country. Remote areas of Punjab like Sansarpur have given the sport as many as nine players who have represented India at the Olympics.
But why bother so much about hockey? Cricket is now our national obsession. Cricket has real stars that make us feel good with their performances, even if the Indian cricket team ranks in the bottom half of the world rankings, just above Bangladesh, Kenya and Zimbabwe. What is the big deal about hockey? Who plays hockey, anyway?
That, precisely, is the issue. Indian hockey's decline coincided with the arrival of live television and big sponsorship money. A sporting 'product' was needed to sell those wares, to consume the sponsors' and the advertisers' money, and Indian hockey did not make the grade. It had no Gavaskar, no Kapil Dev.
The hockey establishment too was happy to let things drift. If there was anything they hated more than losing, it was the hockey star. So the moment one reared his head, it was squashed. In addition, the basic principle of modern sport is no stars, no cash.
We need to change our thinking to see India get medals again at the Olympics. We have to give our National Sport the importance it deserves. Only then, the glorious years for Indian Hockey will return…