The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : Restore order through dialogue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 05, 2004

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Sport - Hockey

Restore order through dialogue

By S. Thyagarajan

CHENNAI, MAY 4. A crisis involving the star player, Dhanraj Pillay, is now routine whenever the Indian Hockey Federation goes into the selection mode. The spontaneous reaction of the fraternity only goes to underline his popularity. But the debate has assumed the contours of a contest between the federation and the player, and, in some areas, as a tussle between him and the chief coach.

The issue should be studied in a proper perspective as to ensure that the passion generated does not demoralise the team or vitiate the atmosphere before the Olympics. The events leading to the omission of Dhanraj for the pre-OIympics at Madrid precisely did that; and the struggle waged by the team to be part of the Olympics is now history.

What needs to be stressed here is that the IHF should clearly approach the problem in two aspects; firstly, Dhanraj's value as the player and secondly, as an individual with an unpredictable temperament. Opinions cannot differ on the fact that he is the most capped player in the world, and has been donning the national colours since 1989. Indisputably, he is gifted, and possesses a monkey's wealth of tricks. He can, at any given point of time, leave even the most efficient defence bemused and bewildered.

The age factor is cited against him. At 34, he cannot be measured in terms of physical fitness in the same mould of a 24-year old. It is also true that he cannot be on the field for long spells. More importantly, he has slowed down considerably from what he was about five years ago. But today, few players, including the youngsters like Deepak and Gagan, can match Dhanraj in short bursts, weaving in and out of the rival defence.

Where Dhanraj's usefulness comes in handy is when employed as the schemer. His ball sense and creativity are outstanding, besides being a treat to the beholder. Therefore, it is in the role of setter for the ebullient frontline attack that Dhanraj should prove to be useful. Experience is what makes Dhanraj indispensable in the present context of the Olympics. The same argument goes also well for Baljit Singh Dhillon, whose dribbling skill and body swerves are not matched by many youngsters aspiring to be at the summit.

The sympathy wave for Dhanraj obviously masks the filament of negativity ingrained in his approach. It is a fact that Dhanraj can be a huge problem for any coach. And with one as assertive as Rajinder Singh, things have never been smooth. If Rajinder Singh believes that Dhanraj does not give him the importance and respect as the chief coach, the feeling may be genuine. There are instances when Dhanraj had bypassed the chief coach to deal directly with the President. There have been embarrassing moments too when Dhanraj refused to come out of the field when substituted by the coach. Such irritants do hurt the sentiments of the chief coach, who probably fears that Dhanraj can be a bad influence on the younger elements.

But the logic of determining fitness for playing 70 minutes is unacceptable. No star player in contemporary hockey is used for all 70 minutes on the synthetic pitch. Even top players in the mid-field like Delmee of Holland or Brent Livermore of Australia are pulled out now and then to recoup. The shuffling done by the coaches to keep the players always fresh on the field should be seen to be believed. In one match at the Champions Trophy last year, the Dutch coach, Joost Belaart used substitutions over 60 times in a 70-minute encounter. So, fitness today is a question of strategy to get the best out of the player.

The argument is that Dhanraj has already played three Olympics and the ratings obtained were nothing significant. In fact, the decade that Dhanraj figured in the Olympics was the worst in India's hockey history in terms of rankings. But the problem is that it has not been possible to find a suitable replacement who is even forty per cent as good as Dhanraj. In the circumstances, the strategy should be to use the best that is left in the seasoned star till the Olympic Games.

The administration is not exactly shining because of a total lack of transparency in giving the public the reasons for the steps taken. Whether they are acceptable or not is a different question altogether.

That the IHF should do a little bit of re-thinking on the issue goes without saying in the face of the interest generated. The paramount concern ought to be the interest of the country rather than highlighting a few human weaknesses found in a player like Dhanraj. He needs to be preferred for sheer want of a substitute. The best way to resolve the crisis is to initiate a dialogue among the IHF top brass, chief coach and the player concerned to iron out the differences, which are mostly off the field situations relating to sponsorship, media exposure and what not.

Time for finalising the squad for the Olympics is running out. Controversies like this will have a very negative impact on the possible outcome at Athens. If the IHF has presumed that forcing Dhanraj into a long camp may cripple him again, then there is some logic in this line of thinking. The issue can be resolved only if the IHF decides without standing on prestige to include both Dhanraj Pillay and Baljit Singh Dhillon in the list of probables and give them a fair chance to prove their fitness.

The ideal team should be: Goal: Devesh Chauhan and Adrian D'Souza; Full backs: Dilip Tirkey, Kanwalpreet Singh and Sandeep Singh; Mid-field: Vikram Pillay, Viren Resquinha, Bimal Lakra, Ignace Tirkey and Arjun Halappa; Forwards: Deepak Thakur, Dhanraj Pillay, Baljit Singh Dhillon, Gagan Ajit Singh, Prabhjot Singh and Sandeep Micheal. Reserves: Kamaldeep Singh (goal), William Xalco (defence), V.S. Vinay (mid-field) and Subodh Khandekar.

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