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India stutter after a good run
RIO DE JANEIRO: Welcome to the revival of our national sport.
RIO DE JANEIRO: Welcome to the revival of our national sport.
Indian hockey has been far too long mired in controversy and inept management. For far too long has it seen its thunder stolen away by cricket. Given our glorious hockey heritage, India has eight gold from past Olympics, this was a sport we owned. It was our pride. Then came Montreal (1976) and Astroturf. Then came our inglorious seventh place finish at those Games. A depleted Moscow (1980) field saw us again gain gold but the glory years of Indian hockey were over.
Of course, the new format of four 15-minute quarters has helped us. Of course, fitness has been our bane in the past and the jettisoning of the 35-minute half gives us more breathing room. But then as the West messed with our dominance by shifting to the synthetic stuff, which made the game more about power and endurance instead of skill, it’s about time we got some aid back.
REKINDLING
Now, 36 ignominious years later, we are again in the knock-out stage of the Olympics. Roelant Oltmans’ work over the last four years is beginning to bear fruit. Just how laden this new spring in our hockey will be, is yet to be ascertained but then this is a rekindling which augurs well.
This pretty story was jarred a bit when India were unable to tame Canada in their final Group B match on Friday. Canada is set to be the bottom of the heap in this group and India’s inability to take the attack to them was hardly heartening of a unit that has inspired confidence in its strategic play and coordination so far.
The 2-2 scoreline won’t do much to bolster the confidence of the Indians as this was one of the weakest teams in the fray. The draw also potentially means that we may finish fourth in the group and that in turn makes the likelihood of running into Group A topper Belgium, all the stronger, in the quarterfinals. Oltmans was understandably furious. In a short chat after the game he let it rip: “Start to use your brains,” he told the crestfallen team, “You are not using your brains. That’s why we are where we are,” he was overheard saying. The coach perhaps does not know that the TV monitors supplied to the press on the site carry clear sound from the game. One can hear the umpires chattering away and threatening the players with admonishments if they repeat their fouls. It was a pleasant surprise to learn that one could even listen to the coach’s post-match dressing down.
Akashdeep Singh and Ramandeep were the guys who found the goal for India on Friday while Scott Tupper, the Canadian captain led from the front to convert two penalty corners. The result implies that instead of sitting pretty at third in the group India now have to wait for the final group match that pits Argentina against Ireland. In case the South American team wins, India will be placed fourth. Oltmans’ fury is understandable. The coach had pulled off the goalie with three minutes to go in order to bolster his offence and seal a win. The move almost backfired and India was lucky that the Canadian counter attack didn’t rattle the boards one more time to spell out a defeat.
Conceding a goal to Germany in the final three seconds of the match and now this inability to close things out against Canada do reflect a team that’s in the process of shaping up. Interestingly enough, when the opposition is tougher, the team seems to raise its level but true greatness for Indian hockey can only arrive if the consistency of intensity stays.
The way our hockey team has performed at the Olympics over the last three decades, the time for a renaissance has been long coming. Seriously, it’s about time, isn’t it?
