Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

We’re to blame

Everyone is accusing the government, the IHF, the hockey players, cricket, etc., for our hockey team’s exit from the Olympic qualifiers. How many of us follow hockey? How many of us encourage our children to take up hockey as a sport or career? How many of us know the names of the players in the national hockey team, let alone State-level players? We complain that there are no sponsors for hockey but we forget that sponsors go to the game that has a following. It is time that we, the people, took the responsibility of giving our national sport its due.

Vanita Garg,
Haryana

All of us should take responsibility for what happened on March 9. The administration of hockey is not transparent. Nor is the selection process. Time and again, good players are dropped from the squad. Ex-players are ill-treated and rarely consulted.

As for the government, it has provided neither adequate infrastructure nor monetary support to hockey. When India won the T20 World Cup, the government poured awards and rewards on the cricketers. This despite knowing that the BCCI is the richest cricket board in the world. How much have the media, which are raising a hue and cry over the hockey team’s failure today, highlighted our several victories?

How many of us know that hockey is the only game in which India has won 8 Olympic gold medals? Why do we realise that it is our national sport only when India loses?

Gautam Prakash,
Mumbai

Why is everyone talking about Olympics and the World Cup? It is like wanting to harvest crops without raising nurseries. Today, most schools do not have even the minimum facilities for sports. Grass root level tournaments are not encouraged. We should have at least one sports school in each district with modern infrastructure.

T.N. Varadarajan,

Chennai Although hockey is our national game, it does not receive the patronage, support and sponsors like cricket, which has proved to be a money spinner. It is not hockey alone that cries for attention; there are many other sports such as football, tennis and athletics. It is time the government took steps to spot budding talent in sports and nurtured it at grass root level.

M. Jeyaram,
Sholavandan

The downfall in hockey started from 1956 and it reached rock bottom this year. The main reason for this is our inability to move with the times. Initially, the advanced countries were not familiar with hockey and India reigned supreme. Once they caught on with the game, their determination enabled them to reach great heights. In our country, on the other hand, the entire concentration has been on cricket.

Capt. O.B. Nair,
Kochi

The hockey team’s failure to qualify for the Olympics has come as a great shock to all sports lovers. At the same time, we need to look into the reasons behind the dismal performance. The nation needs an explanation from the IHF.

P.G. Singh,
Jalandhar

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