The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : What a fall!

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Wednesday, Mar 12, 2008
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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

What a fall!

In 1928, the Indian hockey team created history for all good reasons when it won the Olympic gold at Amsterdam. It inspired a Dutch journalist to describe Indian hockey as a game in which the ball does not obey the laws of velocity and the shortest distance between two points is not a straight line but a zigzag.

On Sunday, Indian hockey created history for all the wrong reasons by failing to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. Since 1976, Indian hockey has been going downhill and has not revived. India, which taught the world to hold a hockey stick, has to sit out to watch the world play. Where are the modern Dhyan Chands, Roop Singhs, Balbir Singhs and Ashok Kumars? I am sure there must be plenty of them. Will the Indian Hockey Federation take the trouble of finding them to revive the game?

Timothy Dawson,
Wanneroo,

Western Australia The picture of player Rajpal Singh standing with his head down next to the jubilant team from Great Britain (March 11) symbolises the sad state of Indian hockey. At a time when cricket players are competing with movie stars in wealth and fame, it must be hard for our hockey players to find reasons to continue playing the ‘national game.’ But then, cricket usurped Indian hockey’s glory by winning games, and taking its place at the international level. Any sport needs winning teams and brilliant performers to survive, develop, roll in cash, and drive fans crazy. Indian hockey needs to win to survive.

Pratima Vishnu Prasad,
Kochi

What a great fall — the eight-time Olympic gold winner has not qualified to participate in the Beijing Olympics! The future of hockey in India appears sealed as Indians are caught in a cricket frenzy. No one seems saddened by the ignominious defeat as we are no longer interested in the game which brought us name and fame.

M. Rama Krishna,
Kakinada

The defeat is a blessing in disguise. At least now, let introspection — rather than blame game — begin. The IHF should be held accountable for our fall from being Olympic champions to outsiders.

P. Guru Prasad,
Chennai

The cartoon (March 11) succinctly portrays the extent to which hockey has sunk. The Indian team’s exit from the Beijing Olympic qualifier comes as a great shock to all the fans in India and the region.

J. Akshobhya,
Mysore

The team’s failure to qualify for the Olympics marked the darkest hour in the history of Indian hockey. It is necessary to make the administration of the game more professional. Former coaches and experts should come together to chalk out a strategy. We need a more vibrant and positive approach to the game. We have the talent but do we have the will to effect a turnaround?

R. Girish,
Botswana

The rout of a team with so many ‘formers’ to its credit should make the authorities sit up and take stock of what ails the game. While India is on top in cricket, it has reached a nadir in hockey. It just shows how it is treated. Unlike in other games, we do not lack talent in hockey; the abundant human resource should be suitably harnessed.

S.R. Badrinarayanan,
Chennai

The dismal performance is the result of the collective failure of all concerned with the game. Though we were the unchallenged champions in hockey for long, we have seen many ups and downs in the game in the past two decades. Whether it was due to a qualitative decline or our failure to improve the standard of the game is something that needs to be analysed. What is important is to avoid such a situation in future.

K.K. Cherian,
Bangalore

March 9, 2008 will be remembered as an ignominious day in the history of our national sport. Photographs of crestfallen Indian hockey players have been flashed across every newspaper of the nation. We may be scoring great victories in cricket but our national sport is a shambles.

Siddharth Singh,
New Delhi

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