Indian hockey still going nowhere

There was a time when Indian hockey was at its prime, with great players, great tournaments, and great showings at all international meetings, including the Olympic games. Unfortunately, the way the state of Indian hockey is right now, one seems to wonder if there is any lower than we can go.

The Hockey World Cup is on right now in Germany, and India has played 5 games already, and not won a single one. India has lost to everybody in its group, only managing to get a draw against South Africa was it? So thats the way the tournament is going. Once the powerhouse of world hockey, home to the names of Dhyanchand, Mohd. Shahid et al, and today we can't win a game. I am sure the IHF, abely led by supercop KPS Gill, is rolling in laughter at this great joke they are playing with our players and with the country.

Fuck man, in a group of 6 teams, we drew with one and lost to 4, and are, expectedly, at the rock bottom. What the hell went wrong? Is it bad policy, is it lack of skill, is it lack of facilities, is it lack of training, there has got to be something that we can put a finger on and say that "look, this is the reason you suck so bad, and if you work on this, maybe, just maybe, you'll at least win a game next time."

A former German coach says that a great hockey nation like India is at this sad juncture is because there is no direction. Hmm, I thought Indian sports programs never really had any direction. Take any sport, any damn sport, and you will find fat officials gorging on funds that are meant for players, dirty administrators who'se only job is to cut corners and never ever try to do justice to their job. Our sports associations are filled with washed out, dirty netas who still live under the false pretense that they are still important, and have turned every damn sports field into a fucking cowshed.

Oh, and as much of an optimist that I am, I am also beginning to wonder that the governments of Delhi, its worthless civic authorities are definitely going to fuck up during the Commonwealth Games in 2010. Dude, in India bureaucracy has never been capable of doing anything. And when that bureaucracy is led by an even worse entity, called the Indian polity, you can be sure that we will get nothing but incompetence and substandard functioning. If Indian politicians had any balls or even an iota of will in them to change this country for the better, we probably would be better. Fuck them, this is not about them.

Coming back to Indian hockey, I've said it before and i'll say it again, as much as KPS Gill has achieved on the internal security front as a cop, he has done nothing for the IHF except feed his ego and obstinacy. The IHF is as closed and unaccountable as the BCCI or any other sports federation.

Fine, people will say that look, they started the PHL, and yes, that is a good concept, but it is still too early to say where it is headed. With IHF at the helm, how can one not expect things to wane and the initial enthusiasm to die out?

Indian hockey hits rock bottom at WC

The Indian hockey team's nightmare at the World Cup continues. A team which has got Olympic gold medals to its name can't win even one match in the hockey World Cup. It's been another disastrous campaign for India at an international tournament.

Embarrasing, if you are looking for a word to summarise India's performance at the hockey World Cup. Don't look beyond it. With just one point from five matches, India is now nowhere near the semi-final stage. They will now be contesting for the last four places in the classification matches.

India have played well only in patches. The forwards have been off-colour barring youngster Shivendra Singh. Before their departure, the coaches said the midfield would be the key. But in Monchengladbach, the midfield was listless.

Indian teams in the past have been known for their attacking skills. But this time, the entire setup has been defensive. Experts say this is another reason why India are conceding last-minute goals, which have often been the decisive ones. India finished 10th at the last World Cup. But this time around, there is a real danger of finishing last.
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No direction

Germany’s famed hockey coach Paul Lissek is saddened by India’s decline and an evident lack of concerted efforts to revive the glory days. He feels India is sufferings the pangs of disjointed planning.

Lissek said it was difficult to believe this slide, and hoped that serious introspection about the causes — and remedial steps —was being done back home in India to ensure that they have the chance of reclaiming a place on the podium at global events.

The most glaring example is that the current side’s coach, V Bhaskaran, was given charge of the squad just four months ahead of the World Cup. “Can anyone shape a World Cup winning outfit in four months?” exclaimed Lissek.“You need a programme in place for two generations of players if you want to produce consistent performances. Look at India’s coaching plans, there’s a glaring lack on continuity from one tournament to the next.”

“You simply can’t have two or three new coaches every year and yet hope to win gold medals,” he said. “Look at all the successful countries, they all have continuity in their coaching programme. The Indian skills are still on view, but their teams haven’t been clicking for some time,” said Lissek, who feels the bench strength of the current Indian squad was not strong enough to maintain the tempo.

“It appears to me that India have a good starting lineup of 11 players, but the remaining ones on the bench are not of the same quality,” he said. “One’s got to be patient with the players, who need time to settle down.”
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And you know what is going to happen next? Because of India's yet another distastrous showing, this four month coach will also get scrapped, and some other goat will be fattened till its time for him to go. Jai ho, jai ho kutte ke pillon.