The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : Disciplinary panel the need of the hour

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 03, 2006

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Sport - Hockey

Disciplinary panel the need of the hour

S. Thyagarajan

Chennai : It is time the Indian Hockey Federation put in place a mechanism to deal with indiscipline and violence among players. If something like this is already in existence, then it must be a toothless, incompetent unit, impervious to the need of the hour.

An independent panel free from being influenced by anyone, including the federation, is imperative if the disturbing trend of on and off-field fracas like the one witnessed in the recent Nehru memorial tournament is to be contained.

Such incidents impair the image of the sport. Assuming that the occurrence of such abominable clashes on and off the field is a reflection of the afflictions of our society, there is still an element of purity left in sport. It is incumbent on the part of players to preserve, and uphold the dignity of figuring in a combat in the best of sporting spirit.

It may be true that in almost every sport there emerge, every now and then, traces of indiscipline and specks of violence. But instances of players fighting among themselves in hockey are recurring.

There is a school of thought that burgeoning indiscipline stems from the soft attitude of the federation. Not that the IHF has remained indifferent so long. Seniors like Kanwalpreet Singh and Gagan Ajit Singh were suspended for indulging in unsporting acts on and off the field. But neither served the punishment in full. Their suspensions were lifted before the stipulated period, ostensibly to make them available for the national team.

Image takes a beating

Neither the IHF nor Nehru tournament committee can brush aside the brawl involving the players of Namdhari XI and IOC, leading to an ugly situation a few days ago. The TV images mirrored, painfully enough, the degeneration of what is hailed as the national game.

Any attempt to argue the incident as an off-field occurrence and therefore a law and order problem is absurd. The Tournament Director, Mr. Chanranjit Singh is duty bound to draw the attention of the federation. Even if he fails to do so, the IHF cannot ignore it as an aberration, considering the media exposure of the fracas.

The best course left for IHF is to constitute a panel immediately to inquire into the facts and circumstances leading to such an ugly display of temper. Importantly, the panel should be empowered to accord exemplary punishment to those involved. To identify the players in the `action' with the sticks will not be difficult from the footage available with the TV networks.

With the second edition of PHL only days away, the IHF should at least appear to be seen as being alive to the dangers that are eating into the vitals of a major sport. More importantly, there is a definite case for an independent panel, preferably, headed by a retired judge. The judgement of this panel must be beyond the purview of the federation, which, at the moment is viewed as being subjected to pulls and pressures from groups rendering the punishment accorded into a mockery.

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