It was early morning in 1984. Just before dawn, we sneaked into a friend's house to listen to the commentary of India-Germany match (1984 Olympics). If I remember correctly, India battled really hard and created many opportunities in that do-or-die final group battle. Fate willed otherwise, India failed to win the match and qualify for semis at Los Angeles.
We were a group of four or five, and all quietly left for our homes. One or two were even crying. It was a very emotional moment as our boys, as we could gather from the commentary, fought manfully but in vain. German machinery were not to be steamrolled into submission. It was well and truly an earth shattering moment for us, and lakhs of other hockey lovers.
Two years later, there was a 12th place finish in 1986 World Cup. And we reconciled to the fact that the golden era was well and truly over. Though India did threaten to reach semis in 1988 and 2000 Olympics, nobody really believed that we could be the golden boys once again.
AstroTurf is said to be a major reason for our decline. True. it all started with 1976 Montreal Olympics when AstroTurf era started. Overnight, you can't develop the skills to play on synthetic turf if you have been playing on grass for first 14-15 years.
But if Aussie or South Africans can win a cricket series in India, so could have India since 1975 hockey World Cup (1980 was a victory due to boycott by the west. There was no Germany, Australia, Holland and Great Britain). And here comes the role of a good, and more importantly, a caring management. A reported cash incentive of Rs 25,000 per player! that's a joke! And here we are talking about our national team!
`Why should only players think about nation' is a brilliant headline in Times of India. Don't they have families to feed? How many of our sports analysts will go to AIR/DD studio daily without fail, just for the sake of the game, if they do not receive any cheque for their fist love? Cricket gives benefits to even retired cricketers not to count the plum assignments with TV. One very well knows what hockey gives to its players.
I strongly suggest that either we treat hockey like our child, or completely forget about it. There is no middle way. The last resort will be to ensure that hockey is governed only by former players. Else, let's move on. Future seem great in Cricket, Tennis, Badminton and Golf.
