Save Indian HOCKEY!!!!!
DISAPPOINTED!!! This would have been the word on every avid cricket fan’s lips post India’s defeat in the Twenty 20 match played against Sri Lanka at home. Especially with the defeat coming at the end of a successful Test series which saw India crowned as Kings of Test cricket and in a week which saw Pakistan defeat New Zealand in their own den and the meek West Indies holding Australia to a draw in the second test.
However this article, if anybody thought was going to be one of the countless ones dished out on cricket day in and day out and running into pages, then they are in for a surprise. This column is not going to be about cricket at all. It is going to be about its poor cousins who are getting poorer by the day while cricket gets richer by the minute. IF at all any mention of cricket is made, that will only be in the form of a comparison.
What is the national game of India?
If this question were to be asked in schools around the country, chances are that 50% of the students will reply “Cricket” in an enthusiastic, all knowing manner. Such has been the stronghold of cricket on this country that we have forgotten that we have a national game which goes by the name of Hockey. This game is played by 11 players who run after a ball with stick in hand for 70 minutes. Their only aim is to outscore each other by pushing the ball into the opponent’s goal. The team with most goals at the end of the game wins. This in short explains hockey to a layman.
What is the common thread that binds Dhyanchand, Dhanraj Pillay and Pargat Singh?
The answer to this question maybe – “All are Indian names” and I for one will not be surprised to hear this since there doesn’t seem to be any other connection that links these three men to the Gen X of India. However fact remains that these are three men who captained the Indian Hockey team at various stages. Dhyanchand captained the Indian Hockey team when it was at the peak in the 1930s very similar to the heady times we are having in Indian cricket. Pargat Singh captained an Indian side which kept the momentum going in the early 90s and Dhanraj took over the reins in the mid 90s when chaos was the order of the day.
Most people will remember the painful sight of Kapil Dev crying over the alleged match fixing allegations levied by his team mate Manoj Prabhakar. But very few will remember Dhanraj Pillay crying on the same TV channels lamenting about the dying nature of his sport. “I should have played cricket and not hockey” – These were the very words coming from a veteran of 15 years.
However the sport has itself to blame for the mess it finds in. The so called administrators of the sport Indian Hockey Federation never thought of giving the sport a direction or trying to get it into good shape. The players were treated like low class government employees and on tours used to share beds and put up in cheap hotels. So much for playing a professional sport!!!!. Also the facilities and infrastructure required by the players is more often than not unavailable. Due to this many of the players have quit the sport in search of greener pastures. The Indian Hockey Federation itself is embedded in a few controversies of its own and the players and administrators do not see eye to eye. Coaches are appointed and leave midway through their stint due to the overall lackadaisical attitude and non-payments. Even the Sports Ministry does not deem it fit to intervene and change the manner in which the game is run. In short no one seems to be really concerned about what we call the national game of India.
Everyone thought that the movie Chak De India would improve the lives of hockey players and maybe help Indian hockey turn over a new leaf. However the public has a memory that is shortlived and Shahrukh Khan walked away with all the accolades along with the producers who got their money’s worth. ESPN Star came out with a Hockey Premier League which also got fizzled out after a couple of seasons, having lost popularity with Indian audiences which prompted Dhanraj to say “SRK ne movie hockey pe banayee aur paise cricket pe lagaye”.
It will require a Herculean effort on the part of the Sports Ministry and the hockey players to get Indian Hockey back on the winning track. It will also require some support in the form of financial muscle from the cash rich BCCI. We also as Indians should help in drumming up support for the national game in every possible way. It is upto the die-hard fans of the sport to cultivate interest in the sport helping it to grow further. There will be no player in the world who does not like to hear the roar of the crowds which will help him perform better than his opponents. Else I can soon hear the death knell for Indian hockey and the fat lady singing her last tune.
Ananthakrishnan S a.k.a Mani