Phir se dil do hockey ko

COMMENT

Give Brasa a chance, but the road is long and arduous

Anguish and shame gave way to despair and darkness in the run up tothe hockey World Cup. The shame of not qualifying for the BeijingOlympics by losing in the qualifiers saw the rot set in deeper when aplayers revolt over pay put Indian hockey in disquiet and a tailspinthat no one expected Indian hockey to emerge out of. But when the sameband of rebellious boys exorcised the ghosts of Hassan Sardar andPakistan's famous victory on the same National Stadium pitch in a 4-1drubbing of Pakistan in the very first game of the Hero Honda WorldCup, just about everything was forgiven.
As people came in droves to support the Indian team at the Major DhyanChand stadium since the tournament got underway, one thing is clearthat hockey if supported adequately can still deliver. Sponsors - HeroHonda, SAIL and lately Shree Cement - have come forward to support thegame. The crowds have come forward to bolster the confidence of theplayers. Remember that India is ranked number 12 on the FIH list andit needed to pick itself up from bootstarp level. I can be a cynic andargue that India could have done much better if it had manned itsleaking like a sieve defence better.
But the biggest takeaway from the World Cup was the never say dieattitude of the players who hung in there virtually till the end ineach and every game. Yes, there are weaknesses and glitches galore.The bruising style of fast paced hockey that leading teams play leavesvery little recovery time and manoeuvreability. Look at South Africa,they were thrashed 12-0 by Australia and yet they vanquishedPakistan. Even against India, they were all over us for most part ofthe game. The rolling substitution, the way top teams have twostrikers at each end of the goal post in a melee, the variationsduring penalty corners, the use of the scoop as a playmaker; the gamehas evolved considerably. It has become attractive and dullness hasbeen replaced by surgical strikes which result in goals galore.Scorelines have changed and it is clear that adroit stickwork stillhas a place in the game, as long as the player doesn't hang on for toolong to the ball.
India will probably end up either at 7 or 8 in this World Cup which iscommendable. Given that if we weren't the hosts, we would have had toqualify for the tournament. Pakistan did. So, for the 12th rankedside, it is a good beginning. I reckon that India needs to persistwith Jose Brasa, he is obviously doing something right. You couldn'thave expected a miracle from this side and Brasa in the short span oftime he has spent with the side. Brasa will need time to impart histhought processes. The players will need to understand these modernnuances. They will require a confluence of time, effort and energy.Moreover, they will need to be supported, for India has two greatopportunities to get back to Camelot. The Commonwealth Games has ahockey event which India strangely has not won. This will beimmediately followed by the Asian Games in Guangzhou.
Former players will crib and grouch over India's performance levels,biut understand the complexities involved. There are no pushovers incontemporary hockey. Yes, Baras used to coach the Spanish women'shockey team, but he has shown some spark in the Indian hockey side.The players can play, that is for sure, it is a question of imbibingmodern techniques and stylistics to put the play patterns in sync withthe sheer pace and speed of contemporary hockey. It requires skillsets which outdated mindsets can just not grapple with.
I would argue that the staging of the World Cup in India is a God sentand for this one needs to thank Leonardo Negre, the FIH boss. Hockeyhas just got a booster shot. The fanatical support for the team at theNational Stadium was kinetic. The crowds willed the players to showoff their prowess and skills and most times Indian players responded.Unfortunate tactical errors in defence notwithstanding and some poorfinishing aside, Indian hockey has been reoved from ventilatorsupport.
Time for the Blue Sticks to show off their game. Next stopCommonwealth Games at the same venue. parallely if we can get HockeyIndia cleaned up and financial support forthcoming for the team toplay some competitive tournaments, then it will be a job well done.For it is obvious that the hoi polloi is willing to phir see dil dohockey ko.