Pratik Dogra
The hockey World Cup is finally coming home. Security concerns notwithstanding, and consequent pull-out threats also notwithstanding, the stage is finally set for the game’s spiritual home India, to play host to hockey’s biggest extravaganza besides the Olympics.
The next two weeks would see the who’s who of hockey world, come together and slug it out in the Dhyanchand Stadium in the Indian capital as they pursue their ambitions of a World Cup victory.
Pakistan, with four World Cup titles to their credit, have won the tourney maximum number of times, while the Netherlands and Germany have claimed top-honours thrice each.
India, on the other hand, have not managed even a podium finish since 1975 when they last lifted the World Cup in Kuala Lampur.
So when the ball sets rolling on the February 28, the game offers India a golden opportunity to not only set its house in order, but also stake its rightful claim in world hierarchy.
Of late, India has been besieged by a lot of off-field problems, which have spiralled on to the field as well.
Even before India’s disgraceful performance at the Olympic qualifiers in Chile two years ago and the subsequent ouster from the Beijing Olympics, for an average Indian sports fan, fed on the fables of legendry Dhyan Chand’s artistry and the ‘Golden Era’, when India notched up 6 consecutive Gold medals in the sport, hockey had somewhat receded in the background from immediate consciousness.
The decline in India’s fortune was slow, but steady. From being the ‘First among Equals’, the undisputed champions, we were reduced to challengers as the playing surface switched from grass to astro turf.
The entire 90s was spent playing catch up to the emerging Europeans. The start of the decade saw India relegated to competing with nations like China and Japan, just to earn a right to participate with the best.
The national sport of the country hit the rock bottom. India, an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and a World Cup gold medal to boot, for all its former glory, clubbed with teams like Chile, Austria and Great Britain failed to qualify for Olympics.
If that was ‘hitting the rock bottom’ on the field, then the game hit rock bottom off field as well when the now erstwhile IHF Secretary Jyotikumran was accused in a sting of accepting bribes from players for a place in the squad.
IHF was dissolved and KPS Gill’s never-ending reign as Indian hockey’s virtual dictator aborted.
Amid huge fanfare, a new hockey body - The Hockey India was formed and, on ad-hoc basis, former Olympians were made its governing members.
This step, however, failed to provide any solution and the state of administration slipped further.
A players’ strike over non-payment of dues, when the team refused to attend World Cup preparatory camp until their outstanding dues were cleared by Hockey India, almost led to the event’s hosting rights being snatched away.
It required intervention and assurances from the highest quarters in Government to ward off the crisis and pacify the rebelling players.
Then came the captaincy crisis when national coach Spaniard José Manuel Brasa and the national selectors named different captains for the World Cup.
Confusion prevailed and there were reports of India being a team being divided, until Rajpal Singh, who the selectors had originally appointed to lead the side, was officially announced the skipper.
Now is the time to rise from the ashes like the Phoenix.
There is no antidote like success.
A good performance over the next two weeks could do for hockey what the 1983 World Cup victory did for cricket in India.
Potential is certainly there. With Brasa at helm of a young squad, this though undoubtedly talented team seems to fall behind on big match temperament.
Onus would be on seniors Prabhjot Singh, Sandeep Singh, fleet-footed Shivendra, Arjun Halappa, goalkeeper Adrian D`Souza as well as skipper Rajpal, to uphold Brasa’s vow to erase dreadful memories of the abysmal 11th place finish four years ago.
India kick-off their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan and if the results of this mouth-watering clash end up favourable for the hosts, it might provide the much needed ignition to the spark the team would require to go all the way.
