Basking in past Glory - Part # 2

.....continuation of part 1

If a cricket player visits a salon, he is traced by the TV News channels, if he sacrifices (read – kill) a goat he is traced (surprising that this cricketer is not yet arrested by PETA), if he dates a girl this is tracked, and the only places where a cricketer is not tracked is perhaps his visit to bedroom, bathroom or toilet!

These bring him more money in advts. Cricketers are provided with farm-houses on hill-stations even if they lose not to mention the money they mint in every match they play. While the cricketers sail on Mercs, pity other sports person straddle on local trains. Cricketers were given a juloos yatra for winning 20-20 but Anand was not even given a welcome by Indian Govt when he came to India after winning the World Title.

When a cricketer gets so much of attention why on the earth one should choose a career other than this? How many sports channel had covered hockey matches as they covered cricket? Can an average Indian recognize any of the hockey players who played for India? What is the contribution of these news channels to this who simply flays those hockey players?

All of the media cry shame of this defeat. Did they ever ponder what made this serious fall of one-time-glory? The present day team is full of youth players. They need motivation and not de-moralization. However, our media chose the other way! If a cricketer fails, detailed analysis is done on every news channel but they chose to ridicule when the same happens to hockey players.

The so-called King Khan, who was glorified by the media as the savior of Indian hockey (just for the reason he played the role of a coach in a fantasy-movie), is being asked about the India’s failure? What a stupidity? How can he answer this? In what way he is related to this? He has taken his share of money for the role he played. His relation with hockey has ended there. Now he is busy auctioning cricketers for IPL. Let him do his earning.

The media was stupid to term him as savior of hockey and now they flay these pity players. Simply by declaring this sport as national one does not make it excel in itself. We need a road-map for the improvement of our performance in hockey.

• Stop Basking in the past glory!
• Play to your strengths. Hone the skills of wrist game.
• Learn new skills. This starts from the grounds. Invite sponsors for building turf grounds.
• Government should allow sops for sponsors or pump in funds to their share.
• Identify those kids who show interest and skills in hockey.
• Conduct tournaments for Under 13, Under 15, Under 18 and Under 21.
• Do not limit tournaments to schools. (read – not only urban schools. Include rural ones)
• Priority to Meritocracy!
• No officials for IHF. Only past players can be officials. Limit their numbers from 1 to 3.
• Government should not target profit while telecasting hockey matches.
• Screen Chak De repeatedly. Not as entertainment but as lesson.
• Learn the lessons: India first, no place is granted, importance to meritocracy, Discipline, team-work, no individual is important etc.,
• Invite coaches from Europe (as to learn the tricks of turfs and their new defense style)

It is the high time we stopped basking in the past glory. Only aged people keep thinking of their past. Younger one never does as they do not have a past. They think ahead of future. India may be old but it does not mean we have to keep thinking of the past and let go slip the present and future from us.

If an aged guy learns to look ahead of future (beyond death), he is claimed as Sadhu. Similarly, India should now stop looking at its past. Think ahead! Turn the age as our strong point. Let us learn to be a Sadhu by thinking far ahead.

Bask in the past glory?

Generally, I do not react to any event immediately. I take my own time as to allow the issue gets settled down. This would give me more clarity on the picture, the real problems concerned etc.; Impulsive reaction is the result of heart ruling the brain that is quite common among us, Indians.

India has lost to Great Britain (is it still Great?) in the qualifier round for Olympics. Since 1928, this is the first time; India is not in the race for an Olympic Gold in hockey. Hockey is the national game of India. India has a great track record of winning the most number of Olympic Gold medals in hockey. Now we are not even in the race! Indeed it is saddening, very much. However, it seems that the entire media and the public (initiated by the media?) are going over-board in the manner they react to this.

At the outset, we should now stop the ugliest habit of basking in the past glory! We should start realizing the reality and accept it without any inhibitions. We might have won Hockey gold medals in the past but it does not mean that we are the juggernauts – we are no longer one. Past is past. In the hockey arena, the fact that Indian team does not pose even a mild threat to any of the professional teams is a bitter truth.

I don’t recollect that in the past decade we had won any major tournament in Hockey. The last Gold in hockey we won was in 1980 (7 Olympics ago) held at Moscow where the major half of the globe did not participate and we won over all small rivals. Nor in the recent past, we have defeated any major team in hockey, let alone winning a tournament!

We are forgetting another fact that Pakistan was a part of India when we won more Golds in Hockey. Pakistan is more talented team than Indian Hockey team. We have to accept this fact and there is no place for jingoism in this. Another sad aspect is, we had won the Gold medals when the hockey was played on grass grounds and not on astro-turfs. In grass ground, the wrist play is the key to win whereas in astro-turfs, one has to be athletic enough where Indians are pretty weak!

It would be an imaginary statement if someone said; India had 25 astro-turf grounds for hockey all over India. Let us not talk of IHF and its officials. If at all, we achieved some success, it is not because of IHF and the Govt but despite them!

I can’t help drawing a parallel to cricket. There is no room for a green-eyed monster here! However, the fact is, Hockey is not getting the requisite patronage to it despite being the national game of our country. The patronage to hockey vis-à-vis cricket is negligible. In all fairness, why one should choose a career in hockey? Just for the sake of government quota job and for the quarters (where one cannot even imagine living there) they provide? What other fringe benefits does one get if he chooses a career in sports other than cricket in India?

to be continued....