ON Sunday night I watched a tense game of hockey between the bruising Argentinians and India. India scraped through by a whisker, winning a Bronze. The good thing was that the ultimate winner – New Zealand – was held to a draw by India in its opening game. Some cheer at last, I thought for a sport that is completely beleaguered in India. That India struggled to win a bronze in the bottom bucket on contemporary hockey tells you how much we have slid over the years. The Champions Trophy featuring the top six teams which culminated days before the Champions Challenge saw the top bucket battling it out.
Much like Sisyphus, Indian hockey has been attempting to run the boulder to the top of the hill repeatedly. Sadly, it has failed despite many different coaches including those of the foreign variety.
Over the last few months, Indian hockey has tried picking up the pieces with the induction of a Spanish coach Jose Brasa. A disastrous European tour was followed by a successful series against the Canadians. That is not saying much because Canada like India are wooden spooners ranked at the very base of the hockey pyramid. However, The Champions Challenge in Salta has been relatively better, finishing third amongst eight could be described as creditable. The Bronze medal face off saw Raghunath, Dhananjay, Gurbaz, Tushar, Shivendra et al play a good game of hockey and come up trumps despite being down 0-2. A medal could be considered a booster shot. I noticed that India played its usual brand of short passing hockey at the top and used the long passing version to rotate the ball from the deep. I liked Dhananjay Mahadik’s spirited finish to fetch India the match winner. India was given number six billing in the tournament, and I guess it did well to finish third.
Every time India wins a medal in hockey, the old question of whether we have turned the corner is thrown into stark relief. We need to build on this finish. Now I don’t know whether we have managed this third place finish due to Brasa’s strategy and tactics or simply by playing good old fashioned sub continental style hockey. Brasa before leaving on the European tour had said that India is going to learn hockey. I don’t know what he meant by that. “We have to learn modern hockey. We have to change things to be in the top. We want to be in the top four in the world,” he had said.
Yes, Indian hockey has fallen on very bad times, in fact, it has hit boot strap level, but ‘learning hockey’ was a bit much. It was kind of unpalatable. But Brasa has some ideas and it would do no harm in letting him try them. India has nothing to lose, we can’t fall further in the world hockey order. We can only attempt to claw and climb back. Brasa himself has seen a veritable ‘mutiny on the bounty’ with a section of the senior players rebelling against him and his style of imparting coaching. But there are two schools of thought, one in minority which believes that someone needs to crack the whip on Indian players and get them to imbibe the modern techniques in hockey, someone who reorients and recalibrates and brings new systems and processes to bear as far as fitness and drills are concerned. Indians still have the artistry and dribbling skills, but contemporary hockey has moved on. It is a very physical game. One of the goals scored by Australia in the recent Champions Trophy said it all, a forward sliding in to the D to smash the ball in. Of course there is also a majority which reckons that Brasa knows nothing and there is nothing that he can do to improve Indian hockey. Worse still, they think that he is here for love of money.
It is common knowledge that FIH president Leonardo Negre brought pressure to bear on the Indian Olympic Association to accept fellow Spaniard Brasa as the new coach. Ever since the Jyothikumaran bribery episode and the sacking of KPS Gill as IHF boss and the subsequent creation of Hockey India, Negre’s writ has run large on Indian hockey. Many former hockey players like Aslam Sher Khan and Ashok Kumar are upset at this.They cannot accept IOA’s role in undermining the erstwhile Indian Hockey Federation. But that is hardly of any importance. What is important is whether Brasa can actually lift Indian hockey from the morass that it finds itself ensconced in. At Pune when the alleged revolt took place, Brasa was quick to douse the fires and dismiss the notion completely. Which was a good thing. We want results, that is the only thing that matters. However, Brasa is unhappy with the slow pace with which Sports Authority of India works, Brasa also criticised the way Indian hockey players were being treated at the Salta camp. “I have complained many a time about the food menu for the players and no one seems to be listening. Players are getting almost same type of food everyday. The chicken given to them is no more than bones. I don’t understand this. I have prepared a menu for the players but no one follows that. I don’t understand when things will change,” he fumed.
Spot on Mr Brasa. You too have discovered the way Indian sport is run. Deep into the ground. So, is the problem only with the way our hockey players perform? Is it lack of skill and style? Is it training drills and match play? While all these things may be a problem, in many ways the administrative mainframe which is supposed to support the players on the field is a bigger malaise. The administration is dysfunctional, it doesn’t care. It is oblivious. The camp in Balewadi, Pune was like a war zone. Some of the reports though exaggerated had the hoi polloi concerned. It was said that seniors in the Indian hockey side were unhappy with Jose Brasa. It seemed that captain Sandeep Singh had differences with Brasa over drag-flicks. The captain then pulled out of the camp citing back problem as the reason. Sandeep reportedly said, “I don’t want to talk about my back problem before I speak to Hockey India officials.” Five players, including Ignace Tirkey and Prabodh Tirkey, who were not in the squad for Salta, were also miffed with Brasa. New captain Rajpal Singh refused to discuss the issue, but denied discontent in the team. “We have a good rapport with the coach both on and off the field,” he said. A HI insider said that fissures have developed in the team as some players are backing Brasa while others are finding fault with his coaching methods.Which meant that a section of the older players were dead against Brasa’s methods, while the younger lot were eager to learn. So, if Brasa has managed a third place finish at Salta without these senior players, it is their loss and not the country’s. Results are the only that matter to a nation starved of good news on the hockey front. India beat Argentina 3-2 after being pulverised 6-3 by Pakistan in the semi finals. Normally, Indians wilt after an onslaught of this kind, but they kept their nerve to vanquish Argnetina which is now considered a dangerous side in world hockey.
Brasa has a bone to pick with SAI. That is what IOA boss Suresh Kalmadi needs to focus on. Of course, his immediate concern should be the elections on January 29. Like in most sports disciplines, the fragmented nature of Indian hockey administration replete with ‘players’ is cause for worry. India has an unbelievable opportunity at redeeming itself. Hero Honda and SAIL have come together to sponsor the hockey World Cup in February. In October, we have another shot at redemption with the Commonwealth Games and of course thereafter there is the ASian Games to look forward to. Barasa’s young team has three shots at redemption. The Champions Challenge result needs to be looked at as an edifice for this future. The IOA and SAI need to support Brasa and the players by giving him whatever he requires instead of trying to trip him.
As I said before, it cannot get any worse after better. Give Brasa and the boys a chance. If it is strike 3 at the end of the Asian Games in Guangzhou, then sack him.
