ASPIRATIONS SOAR AGAIN

Raghunatha Rau*

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It is a normal trait among Indian sports fans to go overboard on any achievement on the international stage, for they are so fleeting in any case. And when it comes to a game like hockey, the emotions are even more understandable. Suddenly, there is talk of the Indian captain mounting the podium at the medals presentation ceremony in the Athens Olympic Games next year!

Certainly, winning two back-to- back international tournaments, first in Australia and then in Germany, is nothing to be sneezed at. And that, too, against top-class opposition.

But one is afraid the talk of an Olympic gold medal is still premature. Before the team can even dream such dreams – the last Olympic medal was all of 24 years ago – there are many hurdles and roadblocks.

To start with, we have not even qualified for the Athens Olympic Games so far. That was thanks to the disastrous showings at the last Olympics in Sydney and then at the Busan Asian Games.

That means India will have to go through the mill of the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in Madrid next March. Only if they do well there can they think of going to Athens later in the year. Before that, there are some other important fixtures that can test their staying power considerably. Next month, the team will go to Amstelveen in the Netherlands for the Champions Trophy, which involves the elite six hockey-playing nations of the world.

Come September, India, along with Olympics runners-up Korea and Pakistan, will compete in the Asia Cup at Kuala Lumpur. Then comes the inaugural Afro-Asian Games in Delhi in October to be followed by another visit to Kuala Lumpur next January for the Azlan Shah Trophy, participation in which was vetoed this year by the Government for political reasons.

With such a hectic international schedule ahead, chances are that that the Indians after reaching the peak – at least these two peaks – might show a dip in their form. That is only natural, considering the extraordinary demands of modern hockey.

Unfortunately, Indian sports fans do not take kindly to any such dip, and in any sport for that matter. After all, what happened back home after the first few defeats in the cricket World Cup in South Africa last year must be still fresh in public memory, with Sachin Tendulkar making an extraordinary apology on television. And yet, the team went on to reach the final.

But let us put such dark thoughts behind us, and instead savour the current triumphs of the hockey team under Dhanraj Pillay. "This is the best Indian team I have seen in years" was the comment of the President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), and that, too, after India lost to Germany in their first meeting at Hamburg.

Later, of course, the Indians made amends and Els was even more happy when she presented the trophy to Pillay last Sunday. What impressed the FIH President was the fitness level and aggression the Indians displayed against the formidable Germans, presently enoying the status of world champions. She, however, wanted India to try and maintain the level of consistency

What made the Hamburg triumph even sweeter was that India had not won even one match in their three appearances at the tournament and always finished at the bottom. This time, too, India started off with a defeat, against Germany, but they managed to turn the tables spectacularly over the next four days.

In many ways the victory in Germany could be ranked higher than the title win in the three-nation tournament in Australia because the conditions were different and the opposition tougher. At Hamburg, the Indians had a heavy schedule – they played four matches in five days, apart from the hectic travelling.

While Australia and Pakistan, the opponents in the previous tournament, play almost the similar brand of open hockey as India do, in Germany the opposition had variety. Hosts Germany and Spain play the European brand of hockey while Argentina with their soccer-style tactics have always posed problems for India.

Coach Rajinder Singh, a soft-spoken but tough centre-half from the old school, gave the team the mantra of attacking hockey while sticking to the traditional open-style game. That mantra paid off spectacularly in Hamburg.

The result was that India scored ten goals in three matches. The biggest surprise was the dramatic success in conversion of penalty corners – traditionally their weak link. The fact that six of the ten goals came from penalty corner conversions says it all.

On top of that, India experimented with four penalty corner experts, and all of them had at least one goal each to their credit. Rajinder himself during his playing days was used to just one penalty corner expert, like, say, fellow Northern Railway player Mukhbain Singh. The fact that as coach he willing to try out four in that specialist capacity shows that he is not hide-bound by old ideas.

Ironically, the increase in penalty corner conversions was accompanied by a decline in the number of field goals, previously India’s forte. The importance of field goals cannot be exaggerated at a time when it is becoming increasingly difficult to score from penalty corners owing to the ever improving standards of goalkeeping as well as rule changes in the area. It takes a lot of creativity and effort to produce field goals after blinding runs down the flank or down the middle, but very often the Indian forwards threw away the advantage with fancy shots and blind backhanders. Perhaps Rajinder Singh’s next job will have to be work on that.

On the last day at Hamburg India beat Spain 4-2, with Kanwalpreet Singh, Gagan Ajit Singh, Deepak Thakur and Dilip Tirkey scoring for us. India then had to await the outcome of the day’s second match between Germany and Argentina before they could know whether the trophy was theirs or not. In the event, Argentina drew with Germany 4-4, which meant that India topped the standings on points.

Dhanraj Pillay seems to be the ever-green man of Indian hockey. He is now well into his 30s, which is old-age status for most hockey players, but he still displays the verve and zest for the game as a decade back. Apart from that, Dhanraj has gone through many vicissititudes in his career vis-à-vis his relations with authority.

For example, Dhanraj was summarily sacked after India won the Asian Games gold medal at Hiroshima six years ago, along with half a dozen other players. No real explanation was given for that extraordinary act by Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) President K.P.S.Gill, except that the team needed youngsters now.

And yet, Dhanraj was recalled soon after, and he is still going strong. Earlier there were problems with his outspoken nature. That is still there, but Dhanraj has now learnt to control his temper.

The latest evidence of that was when the team returned from Hamburg. The players discovered that their baggage was missing a full two hours after landing at Mumbai airport. Normally, Dhanraj would have blown his top, but this time he kept his cool. Certainly a sign of growing maturity. But there is no drop in Dhanraj’s mercurial attacks down the field, which leave many of his younger colleagues stranded.

There were some other outstanding performers at Hamburg. Outstanding among them was goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan, who turned in a truly gutsy performance under the bar. Chauhan’s role in blocking penalty corners – he stopped some of the best in the world – was a major factor in India’s success.

At the other end of the field, however, the number of field goals missed by Gagan Ajit Singh, Deepak Thakur and even by Dhanraj was dismaying. However, to Gagan’s credit, he slammed home a couple of goals with opportunistic rebounds to be named the best player in the tournament.

One major factor responsible for India’s success was the improved level of fitness of the players. The players now go through cmmando style training, and there is a more scientific approach to fitness as well as conserving than in the past. Thus, as Rajinder put it, while past teams were fit enough for competition, the players’ energy levels came down due to unproductive moves and needless running from one corner to another.

Apart from that there is the motivation factor. The attitude of present players has changed dramatically. Previously a draw against Germany, as happened in the one-off Test match before the tournament, would have satisfied most players. But not this time. They were confident of beating them and winning the title.

That is the right spirit. After years in the wilderness, and despite all the talk at home of hockey being the national game, Indian players had developed an inferiority complex. But no more. That is the biggest achievement of the Hamburg triumph.

*A Senior Sports Writer