The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : IHF under the scanner

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Friday, Dec 08, 2006
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IHF under the scanner

New Delhi: Stunned by the team's humiliating loss to China at the Asian Games, former hockey players have lashed out at the ``skewed'' selection policy of the Indian Hockey Federation and the strategies of the team management.

Four-time Olympian Dhanraj Pillay blamed the the IHF top brass for the downslide of Indian hockey.

``What can I say? Ask (IHF President) KPS Gill and (Secretary) K. Jothikumaran — the people who are sitting there and running the show. Ask the selectors,'' Pillay told PTI on Thursday.

Asked where the team was lacking, the player shot back: ``tell me where we are not lacking?''

Former captain and a left winger of repute Zafar Iqbal was lost for words while reacting to the disappointing loss of the Indian team to minnows China.

``What is there to say? After a stage, reactions lose their weight,'' he said.

Costly tactical errors

However, Iqbal said tactical errors were to be blamed for India's poor showing at the Asian Games.

``The loss was purely because of tactical errors. China is a weak team and it is common sense that weaker teams play defensively.

``Even in the 1980s we had played against China and their strategy was similar. We could win that match only by a 2-0 margin even though we were a much better side,'' Iqbal said.

``In this case, they were defensive throughout and wherever they got the chance they scored,'' he said.

Iqbal said instead of playing into China's hands, India should have waited for them to open up and launched their attack.

``Also, since we don't have a natural centre-half, Viren Rasquinha (dropped from squad at eleventh hour) would have been good at least for a competition at the Asian level.''

Penalty corner expert missed

He said the absence of a penalty corner expert was also adversely affecting India's chances in international tournaments. ``We got some seven-eight short corners, but we don't have a genuine penalty corner expert. We have a new chap (V. Raghunath), but he is shaky,'' he said.

Iqbal rued that the series of defeats hardly seemed to be bothering the IHF.

``There is no effect on the IHF and it makes no sense in explaining these to them. The state units are also responsible for India's degradation as they are not bothered to change. The former players cannot achieve anything by shouting from the sidelines,'' he said. — PTI

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