Hockey India ensuring Covid-19 is not a setback for India’s Tokyo Olympic dream

The national men’s and women’s hockey teams have resumed preparations in SAI, Bengaluru after a brief break.

After a brief break due to a series of nation-wide lockdowns, the Indian National Teams (both Men and Women) are back on their feet. It’s been over six weeks since they returned to normalcy with regular, uninterrupted daily schedules in their preparations for the Tokyo Olympic Games. They live in a safe bio-secure environment in Sports Authority of India’s Bengaluru campus and will continue to remain in the National Coaching Camp until travel restrictions are lifted to tour and compete abroad.

Former Indian hockey player VR Raghunath.

I think this swift resumption of activities for the teams was largely possible due to the working relationship Hockey India shares with Sports Authority of India (SAI). When India went into a lockdown, Hockey India did not stop working. They used the virtual medium to engage with their state member units, continued with their ambitious Coaches Education Pathway courses through the virtual medium and also conducted online courses for their umpires and technical officials. Simultaneously, they began working on an extensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) with an intent to be well prepared and ready for systematic roll-out once the lockdowns were lifted and permissions granted for resumption of activities.

They remained in constant touch with the National Teams’ Coaching staff in SAI, Bengaluru were the team was housed between March and June. They ensured the players were safe, followed a healthy diet and continued to encourage them to follow a good indoor fitness regime that helped maintain their muscle mass.

When National Federations work in a professional fashion, it sends out a message to the players too -- that they are cared for and they are respected for their efforts they put on the field for the country.

I can say this out my own experience that things were not the same before 2009. Players had to toil for basics and it was a difficult phase for Indian hockey. The repercussions were evident on the playing field with dip in the national team’s performance. The men’s team, with a repute of being the most successful team in the history of Olympic Games, failed to qualify for the quadrennial extravaganza for the first time in 2008.

There has been a huge turnaround in the way things are managed now with Hockey India taking over the reins in 2009. There is a great sense of professionalism in the way the federation functions.

The national camps and tours for both men and women’s team is scheduled in a manner that is scientific (keeping in mind when the team needs to peak in their performance). The teams have a very good support system around them and even when they are injured, there is a strong injury rehabilitation policy that ensures player is 100 per cent fit to return to action.

Hockey players today have little to complain about. They have financial benefits, almost everyone in the core probable group are employed with public sector units and are paid handsomely. I believe all these aspects help players stay focused on their performance and not be worried about any outside factors.

Even now, when all international events were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Hockey India acted swiftly to send a revised ACTC (Annual Calendar for Training and Competition) to SAI where a detailed plan for national camps and tours have been proposed till September 2021.

This kind of proactiveness in planning helps a great deal when the national teams are preparing for major events like the Olympic Games and it ensures there are no hindrance in preparations despite an ongoing battle with the global pandemic.

Apart from ensuring that the National Teams preparations remain on track for the Olympic Games, Hockey India is also encouraging all the state member units to resume district and state level training programmes locally. Since I am part of the administration in Hockey Karnataka, I am aware of the initiatives taken up by the federation. As a result, we have begun constructing a 5-a-side pitch in Bengaluru which can in the future host national level tournaments.

It is quite motivating for young administrators like myself and some of the other former international players who have taken up the responsibility of developing hockey in our state. Hockey India has set a yardstick in sports administration and I am happy hockey is moving in the right direction.

(The author is former Indian Men’s Hockey Drag Flicker, Arjuna Awardee and Vice President of Hockey Karnataka)