Spirited fight for hockey vs popularity of cricket

SPICE OF LIFE: I’ve had the privilege of growing up in an era where hockey occupied a pride of place among sports lovers of our country

Not so long ago, we were the world champions in the game of hockey. Indeed, we retained the gold medal in the Olympics for 32 years, a time much longer than our reign as world champions of cricket. Yet, our country’s golden era in hockey seems buried deep in a dark alley of sporting history, which is, more often than not, overlooked. This contradiction was brought into focus in April when a hockey player of the bygone era, Balbir Singh Junior, passed away. The news was tucked away on one of the inside pages of almost all leading newspapers.

Our country’s golden era in hockey seems buried deep in a dark alley of sporting history, which is, more often than not, overlooked. (Representational photo)

I have had the privilege of growing up in an era where hockey occupied a pride of place among sports lovers of our country. This was the time when the likes of Ajit Pal Singh, Surjit Singh and Leslie Claudius were the toast of a grateful nation and many a conversation in local buses and trains were centred on the dribbling skills of Mohammad Shahid or on the lightning reflexes of Pakistan’s centre forward, Hasan Sardar. The faith on the defensive skills of Surjit Singh, rock solid goal keeping of Michael Kindo would prevail over the power play of the emerging European teams, such as those from Germany or the Netherlands.

This was the era of radio commentaries of the hockey matches being intently listened to by one and all. Often, the celebrated commentators such as the late Jasdev Singh would find it hard to keep pace with the rapid short passes between a Balbir Singh (Senior) and a Balbir Singh (Junior) culminating in a spectacular “gooooooal” matched by the excited high-pitched voice of the commentator, much to the excitement of everyone in the family.

I distinctly remember my father taking me to watch a hockey match played between India and arch rivals Pakistan at a stadium in Jalandhar. The atmosphere was no less than a fair with a constant stream of people going towards the stadium. I had the good fortune of watching the brilliant midfield play of Mervyn Fernandes, with his trademark head band, and that of Zafar Iqbal, making a much-feared combination with the wily Mohammad Shahid. We had a roller-coaster ride watching the free-flowing hockey match with attacks and counter attacks, dazzling dribbles and diving stops. The excitement lasted a crisp 70 minutes and the match was over in a blink!

Hockey continued to offer a spirited fight to the ever-increasing popularity of cricket fuelled by India’s famous victory at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in 1983 against the mighty West Indies. This was the time when we had the mercurial Dhanraj Pillay as the captain of our hockey team, who was known for his lightning speed. The versatile Pargat Singh was the toast of the nation, with his unexpected runs from the backline to the D in no time!

Unfortunately, the game of hockey has slipped into oblivion. Cricket has emerged as the winner. This despite the fact that a hockey match finishes in 70 minutes as compared to a game of cricket that takes at least three hours to get over. Hockey definitely deserves a relook and a fresh lease of life. gulbaharsidhu@rediffmail.com

The writer is a Jalandhar-based psychiatrist. Views expressed are personal