NO COACH, whether Indian or foreign, has any magic wand to catapult any team into world champions overnight. It is the players’ hard work and team spirit, which help nations soar to dizzy heights and make a gold podium finish.
Whether you agree or not, or agree to disagree, it is a universal fact that money makes the mare go! This holds true for hockey too which can see its golden days again, provided it gets its due.
Look at the success of Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket. Hockey too can see the same kind of success. But who cares for our national game anyway? Yes, we now have a foreign (Spaniard) coach with latest hockey techniques and new ideas. But the question is, will he be able to implement them (rather, will he be allowed to?) on the Indian soil and on Indian players?
Well, ask any former Indian hockey player or former coach and he will pour his heart out. You will get a barrage of questions like: What’s wrong with Indian coaches? Have they not produced results in the past? Why can’t our government send them abroad for latest coaching techniques? Why can’t our coaches get world-class facilities which foreign coaches demand and get?
On the other hand, it is also true that it is the players who have to give results at this stage. Provided they are given facilities at par with India’s cricket stars, they are most capable of giving the best shot. The need of the hour is: Our government should listen to them and look into each need of theirs. Mind you, money is the big factor; in fact a great driving force.
True, money can’t buy us medals in the international arena, but an Indian hockey star should be treated at par with M.S. Dhoni or Sachin Tendulkar. That will make a world of difference. There is a need to change the mindset in India, from top to bottom, to give a real boost to our hockey stars. Give them the best to get the best!
The media can play a very important role in making a game popular. Now that our hockey is back to the winning ways after winning the Azlan Shah Cup, sponsors too should flock back to the team. Until that happens, it is the responsibility of our government to make the game popular on each and every TV channel of the country. The print media too should do its bit in promoting the game.
All a player need is encouragement and support of his countrymen. Once that comes, we don’t see any reason why our hockey too can’t become the number one sport in this country. It is just a matter of time, Indian hockey fortunes are sure to turn.
It goes without saying that dirty politics is the bane of Indian hockey. It really degrades our hockey in the eyes of International Hockey Federation (FIH) who seems to be fed up with factionalism in official bodies. Some of our Indian hockey lovers abroad too, feel disheartened when they see the state of affairs back in India. Some of them do want to invest in the game they love but are forced to pull back. All thanks to some shameless sports officials, who have never held a hockey stick in their hands and are clinging on to their plum posts for vested interests.
At the same time, it is encouraging to see former hockey internationals like Ajit Pal Singh, Zafar Iqbal and Dhanraj Pillay taking on the reigns of hockey to win back the lost glory. Positive results are sure to come. With the Asia Cup coming up, things will improve once our players come back with the glittering cup that cheers one and all.
Let the administration of hockey be entrusted to a ‘Board of Control for Hockey in India’ on the lines of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). That can only be possible if some serious initiative is taken at the top, by the people who are actually running this country.
Everything is possible if our Government gives a serious thought to our national game. Let all hockey lovers in this country pray in silence for the dawn of such a day!
