Hockey: A forgotten national sport

The Indian cricket team went to England in July, taking along with them the hopes of a billion people. And it is painstaking that the numero uno test team and the newly crowned world champions have returned battered, bruised and empty-handed. We treat our cricketers with the superlative degree of love and hate. Eulogize them one day and demonize them on another. But why is it that we tend to give our national sport, i.e. hockey (in case we have forgotten), a step-motherly treatment? Hockey, for some reason or the other does not often get its due.

From 1928 to 1956, the Indian hockey team went through an unbeaten run in the Olympics. With 8 Gold medals it has been the most successful hockey team in the world. So how come it came to a point that this hockey giant failed to even qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics? Today, again the Indian hockey team is staring down the barrel as far as qualifying for 2012 London Olympics is concerned. Well, 1976 proved to be a watershed year for Indian hockey.

In the Montreal Olympics in 1976 the use of astro-turf (artificial or synthetic grass) in hockey saw to it that India finished with its worst performance in an Olympic by ending at the 7^th position. It wasn’t that the world didn’t know about astro-turf, in fact the Europeans were already using it from the early 70s’. But it was India, who was caught napping. The use of astro-turf meant that the traditional style of hockey that involved more skill and art, of which, India was a master, became almost obsolete. Now speed, strength and athleticism had a far greater impact on the game. It tilted the tide in the favour of the Europeans. Now, consider the very recent episode where the BCCI had its way with the ICC regarding the use of DRS.

Though Indian hockey was a major force in the 70s’ as well, the hockey federation in India never enjoyed the hegemony which, the BCCI enjoys today. The BCCI has the greatest weapon in the world today, money. The most saddening part of the story is that India never had an astro-turf hockey ground until the 1982 Asian Games. What was the administration doing from the early 70s’ till 1982? This is just a sad example of our seriousness for sports and that too for our national sport. Even till today there aren’t many astro-turf grounds where youngsters can hone their skills.

The administration of sports in India requires a sea-change. The detrimental effects which, politicization of sport administrative bodies can cause is illustrated nowhere better than in hockey. A set-up where players have to rebel in order to get their basic dues such as a match fee, basic infrastructure etc. is a sufficient indicator as to how affairs are managed in most Indian sports bodies barring cricket. The recent gesture of Hockey India to reward the Asian Champions Trophy winning Indian team with Rs.25, 000 has invited a lot of flak from all quarters and rightly so. The long-going tussle between Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation has meant that India has been robbed off by the International Hockey Federation of hosting the Champions Trophy.

It is events like the Asian Games, Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, Commonwealth Games etc. which, generate the public interest, especially when you host such an event. Besides being a great chance of generating revenue, important world tournaments draw young kids to the ground and inspire them. Cricket generates such massive revenues because the Indian cricketers play day in and day out. They are always on the television, in the news, on the ground i.e. the public is bound to engage with the sport in some form or the other. And here I went itching to find out the channel that was telecasting the Indo-Pak hockey final of the Asian Champions Trophy. The answer was none. It was disheartening. How would you bring hockey back on centre-stage like that?

One initiative that was taken to regenerate interest in hockey was the Premier Hockey League (PHL) in 2005. It was played till 2008 and was pretty much the model which, the IPL follows. How starkly different the two have fared! The PHL was not as successful as the IPL, but it rekindled the public interest to some extent. The administration either lost patience or failed to make it an economic success, I can’t tell. Personally, I can’t erase the memories of the drag-flicks of Sohail Abbas (Pakistan) or Jugraj Singh (India) from my mind. Not that I was oblivious about their existence before, but the PHL gave me and many such teenagers to see the best of world hockey players on a regular basis. More such initiatives are required to get hockey back on the right track. For that to happen, a serious and selfless administrative body is required.

The sort of anarchic situation that exists in Indian hockey administration is not only a deterrent for running hockey competently; it also demoralizes the players and even the coaching staff. Ego-clashes, settling political scores cannot take the centre-stage which, belongs only to the players. Indian people still love hockey. We express our love for hockey whenever we are given a chance to do so. People should be consistently engaged with the sport and the players. Then only, would we be able to identify ‘stars’ in our hockey. Stars, who would inspire many more young kids to look up to them as well and not only to the Tendulkars and the Dhonis.