Hopping Hockey state in India – What lies in the future?

Hockey is India’s national sport, this we all know. But what the players of Indian Hockey teams face, and what all pressures the people related to this sport have to face in India is something that we will never be able to know completely. One, because the sport is never really given so much of importance because of the evil competition that comes from Cricket; and two, because somewhere, people have simply chosen to shut their ears when something about this Hockey comes up.

Harsh on Hockey:In the year 2008, Indian Hockey had received a major blow when it was decided that IHF, the Indian Hockey Federation would be de-recognised. The case continued in the following year, and the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) decided to complete de-affiliate itself from IHF. All this was actually a result of the sting operation that was carried out in the event of the Indian Hockey Team not making it to the Olympics in 2008. It was found that K. Jothikumaran, the then IHF secretary had accepted bribe in order to select a player.Of course, it had turned out to be a huge matter of shame for the sport and the country. Eventually, an interim body – Hockey India – was formed to look after the game.Hope for Hockey:Now, two years later, there seems to be some kind of hope coming back for the sport. The earlier decisions on de-affiliation of the IHF from the IOA, and it’s de-recognition too have been cancelled. The court in its statement had mentioned that it was important to forget what had happened in the past, as it would help in the healthy development of the game. The court at the same time also stressed on how it was important to let all organisations have a democratic functioning, but with some amount of government supervision. Besides, suspension of the IHF was very important to remove in order to delve deeper into what problems surround Indian Hockey.

What’s happening now?The decision of course did not go well with Hockey India, because they were looking forward to holding their elections soon. The FIH (International Hockey Federation) had given time till the 31st of May for the same, Vidya Stokes, the President of Hockey India mentioned that the elections were not possible before June.Anything good in the future?Postponing the elections further could mean that India could lose its membership and affiliation with the FIH. The sport unfortunately is already in so much mess, that one more blow like this could turn out to be fatal. K.P.S Gill however seems happy after the new decision, and feels that the OHF receives support from the FIH.Meanwhile, the Indian Women’s Hockey team has been put in a really hard pool this time in the Commonwealth Games, with some of the strongest teams coming in. These include Australia, Scotland, South Africa, and Trinidad & Tobago all in Pool A with India. Indian Men’s Hockey team is in Pool A with Australia, Pakistan, Malaysia and Scotland.Hockey fans and officials are hoping that the performance goes well this time so that events of the past can be overshadowed by the success. This will also help people to look at the sport with a more positive approach, and maybe that will help in the better growth and development of Hockey in India.