Hockey debacle: shock and despair grip India
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| "How much you speak about it is not sufficient. We have created a bad piece of history. It's the worst day for Indian hockey. It's time to replace the top officials of the federation. IHF never tried to take the help of players like me who have played for the country so long," Pillay said. The four-time Olympian, however, said people who matter should look forward instead of criticising the players. An irked Asian Games gold medallist goal-keeper A B Subaiah said not only Gill but the whole set up has to go after the debacle. "People who are asking for Gill's head should also realise that people like (IHF Secretary) K Jothikumaran and (Uttar Pradesh association official) J N Tyagi should also go. "It's very sad and unfortunate that we could not qualify for the Olympics," he said. CPI Member of Parliament Gurudas Dasgupta was the most vociferous in his demand for Gill's head, saying it was high time that he was "thrown out" from his post. "It's a matter of shame that we could not qualify for the Olympics. I know that there have been a number of complaints against the IHF President. There is nobody in the country to look after the sport," he said. On whether Gill should resign from his post, Dasgupta said, "I do not want him to resign. I want him to be thrown out, just to be kicked out." Fellow CPI leader D Raja said, "It's a matter of shame that not only in hockey, the second most populated country is not competent enough in other sports as well." "(There is need to) evolve a comprehensive sports and games policy so that all sports and games are promoted equally and money allocated adequately," he said. Meanwhile, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who is on the tour of Orissa, said he received several complaints about the "unfair" selection process prevailing in hockey. "I went to a tribal academy for hockey players and one of the biggest complaints was that the selection process is unfair and the players who are actually good do not get access to the facilities," he said. Chief hockey coach Joaquim Carvalho has decided to step down along with his support staff following India's failure to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics for the first time in 80 years. Soon after India's 0-2 loss to Great Britain in the final of the Qualifying Tournament, Carvalho said his failure to "deliver result" prompted him to resign. "When I took over 11 months ago, I had said I would resign if I cannot deliver results. So, now, I am keeping my word. Yes, I am as disappointed and hurt as any other Indian hockey fan. Having said that, failure to qualify for the Olympics is not the end of the road for Indian hockey. We now have to start from scratch and renew our attempt to become one of the top teams in the world," he said. Carvalho said he was still to speak to Indian Hockey Federation president KPS Gill about his resignation, but asserted that his decision was final. When asked whether he would re-consider his decision if asked by the IHF, Carvalho said: "I don't know. I will have to give everything a lot of thought. There are a few issues too that the IHF will first have to straighten out. "In any case, for the moment, I am firm in my decision to step down along with assistant coaches Mohinder Pal Singh and Ramesh Parameswaran." The coach opined that there was still a lot of potential in the current team and that there was no need to press the panic button. "We must retain the core team and perhaps even induct a few junior players. Some of the seniors in the team might have to think hard about their future in international hockey," he said. India suffered a never before inflicted pain in its glorious past of hockey participation on Monday as it was ousted from even partaking in the Beijing Olympics 2008 hockey competition. Scoring twice in the first-half, Britain ended India`s Olympic dreams with a 2-0 win in the final of the World Hockey qualifying tournament at Santiago. Following this, the coach and the entire support staff of the hockey team also resigned from their posts. The Indian coach, Joaquim Carvalho said,” Failure to deliver led to resignation” as his reason to quit and added that the team played only 50% of its potential in the final match. IHF vice-president, Narendra Batra slammed KP Gill for his policies regarding the running of hockey in the country as a major deterrent to the proliferation of the national sport. Barry Middleton (4th minute) and Richard Mantell (10th) struck for Britain who then showed the discipline and character to withstand intense pressure to emerge deserving winners while qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Eight time gold medallists India thus failed to make it to the Olympics for the first time since their debut in 1928. While the Britain players celebrated to the accompaniment of the song "We are the Champions", the Indian, heads bowed, shoulders slumped, could only watch the jubilant scenes of a team that played smarter if not better hockey. On the day, it was Britain who showed a lot of steel in dealing with the massive pressure they were subjected to by the Indian forwards. The difference was that Britain, who had beaten India 3-2 in the league, capitalized on the two early chances that came their way, while the Indians did not. In contrast, India could never really settle down and the two yellow cards to their key players, midfielder Sardara Singh and forward Prabhjot Singh filled their cup of woe. It brought the number of yellow cards to five in three matches. India also blew five penalty corners with neither Ramachandra Raghunath with his drag-flicks nor Dilip Tirkey with his direct hits able to convert. In fact, their set-piece drill in the second-half was rather pathetic, as the ball was not even stopped cleanly. India’s disgraceful performance at the Olympic qualifiers in Chile and the subsequent ouster from the Beijing event has come as a blot from the blue for an average Indian. Fed on wonder tales of the legendry Dhyan Chand’s artistry and the Golden era when India notched up 6 consecutive Gold medals in the sport, the prospect of having to qualify for the event was unthinkable and not qualifying…outlandish. As the nation comes to grip with the humiliating reality, a closer look at India’s recent performances suggest, the bolt may have not been exactly from the blue. The writing had been on the wall, we didn’t read it …or perhaps chose not to. The decline in India’s fortune was pragmatic. From being the ‘First among Equals’, the undisputed champions, we were reduced to challengers. The entire 90’s was spent playing catch up to the emerging Europeans. The start of the decade saw India relegated to competing with nations like China and Japan, just to earn a right to participate with the best. And now, the national sport of the country hits the rock bottom. India, an eight time Olympic gold medalist, for all its former glory, clubbed with teams like Chile, Austria and Great Britain has failed to qualify for Olympics. Here’s how the great Olympic fall came about… 1928 Amsterdam: Gold An awe-struck Dutch journalist wrote "The Indian ball seems ignorant of the laws of gravity. One of those tanned diabolical jugglers stares at the ball intently; it gets upright and remains suspended in the air. This is no longer the game of hockey. It is a juggling turn. It is splendid." 1932 Los Angles: Gold Los Angeles sports journalists voted the Indian hockey team`s showing as "the most outstanding exhibition of skill in any sport in the Olympics. 1936 Berlin: Gold After whipping Germany 8-1 in the finals, at a dinner party after the final, Hitler offered to elevate Dhyan Chand to the rank of a Colonel if he migrated to Germany. Ever the patriot, Dhyan Chand turned down the offer. 1948 London: Gold The first time independent India`s national flag was displayed and India`s national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, was played at an Olympic venue, at Wembley. 1952 Helsinki: Gold 1956 Melbourne: Gold 1960 Rome: Silver; lost to Pakistan 1-0 1964 Tokyo: Gold; avenged Rome loss, beat Pakistan 1-0 1968 Mexico City: Bronze 1972 Munich: Bronze So dominant was the Indian hockey team of old that it took 28 years for India to score only 1 goal in a match (India 1 - Germany 0 in the 1956 Olympic semi-final), and it took 40 years before a country scored more than one goal against India in the Olympics (New Zealand 2 - India 1 in the 1968 Olympics). 1976 Montreal: Seventh 1980 Moscow: Gold 1984 Los Angles: Fifth 1992 Barcelona: Seventh 1996: Atlanta: Fifth 2000: Sydney: Seventh 2004: Athens: Seventh 2008: Beijing: Did not Qualify |
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