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| SPORTS TRIBUNE | Saturday, February 23, 2002, Chandigarh, India |
| Evolution
of hockey and the World Cup Amardeep Bhattal HOCKEY’S origin dates back to several centuries. The earliest evidence has been found on stone engravings in Greece which depict players engaged in bully-off. One such stone with two players in action can be seen in Copenhagen’s National Museum. The Victorians later made the first serious efforts to reorganise the game and frame its laws in 1895. Hockey then was played with a worsted, string-covered ball. The earliest sticks were made from oak, ash, or crab and subsequent refinements followed with the passage of time. The striking face was smoothened and a string was wound round the handle for better grip.
What is
wrong with DDCA? |
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Evolution
of hockey and the World Cup HOCKEY’S origin dates back to several centuries. The earliest evidence has been found on stone engravings in Greece which depict players engaged in bully-off. One such stone with two players in action can be seen in Copenhagen’s National Museum. The Victorians later made the first serious efforts to reorganise the game and frame its laws in 1895. Hockey then was played with a
worsted, string-covered ball. The earliest sticks were made from oak,
ash, or crab and subsequent refinements followed with the passage of time. The striking face was smoothened and a string was wound round the handle for better grip. During hockey’s formative years, players generally rushed about in packs and only changed direction when the man in possession came to grief. Later, big hitting came into vogue which transformed the game. The packs disappeared and to intercept long hits, players spaced themselves
out, which eventually led to a reduction in their number. With the passage of time, the hockey stick also underwent modifications and when the Hockey Association took birth in England, certain rules were laid down with respect to its specifications. Accordingly, the sticks were required to pass a ring with a 2.5 inch diameter. Mr Edgell Westmacott of Teddington Hockey Club is credited with the introduction of the striking circle. The dimensions of the field and its marking also underwent a series of modifications. The game gradually spread to Europe and the Hockey Association was generally accepted as the parent body. The game was conducted as per rules laid down by it. Few games have grown in popularity so rapidly. When hockey was first introduced as an Olympic discipline in 1908, only six countries took part. With the birth of the International Hockey Federation in 1927, hockey came to be recognised as an Olympic sport and was included in the 1928 Olympic Games at Amsterdam. However, a feeling started gaining ground that team sports were not in consonance with the Olympic spirit which favoured individuals pitted against individuals rather than nations competing against
nations. As a consequence, the number of competing nations in team sports was reduced from 16 to 12 per sport. Further calls for dropping of team sports altogether in the Olympics sounded the alarm bells and a joint appeal was made by India and Pakistan to the FIH on March 30, 1969, to start an exclusive world-level competition in hockey. The proposal to institute the World Cup took some time to
materialise. The response from European countries was not very encouraging but the proposal was examined by the FIH and on October 26, 1969, the FIH Council gave the go-ahead for organising the World Cup. Accordingly, it was decided to organise the first World Cup at Lahore in 1971 but the prevailing political situation in the country forced the FIH to shift the venue to
Barcelona. Ever since, nine editions have been successfully organised at Barcelona, Amsterdam, Kuala Lumpur, Buenos Aires, Bombay, London, Lahore, Sydney, and Utrecht. Initially the World Cup was played every two years but on September 29,1974, the FIH decided to hold the tournament every four years. Today although more than 80 countries are affiliated to the International Hockey Federation, only the top 16 teams are allowed to take part in the World Cup, the symbol of supremacy in international hockey. |
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The trophy THE World Cup trophy was conceived by Pakistan. It was initially decided that a hockey stick fabricated in gold and silver should be presented to the winners but the former president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation, Lt-Gen KM Azhar Khan, suggested another theme. Accordingly, Mr Bashir Moojid, the designer, along with his team of men from Pakistan army’s Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers designed the masterpiece as it exists today. A hockey stick and ball on a globe made of gold today is one of the most sought- after possessions of hockey-playing nations. The trophy was formally presented by Mr HE
Masood, Ambassador of Pakistan in Belgium, to Mr Rene Frank, former FIH president, at Brussels on March 27,1971. |
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Deepak Thakur’s quick rise to fame BACK-to-back hat-tricks in the Junior World Cup hockey tournament sounds like a story from Ripley’s ‘Believe it or not.’ Mercurial Deepak Thakur Sonkhla, showing brilliance, coupled with exuberance, accomplished this rare feat in Hobart (Australia) last year-end with aplomb. Deepak Thakur, as he is popularly known, beacon of Indian hockey, exhibited the traditional Indian hockey skills like a master craftsman. It was his solo effort that India won the Junior World Cup Hockey Tournament, beating the formidable and unpredictable Argentina in the final. In his maiden appearance for India in the Junior World Cup Hockey Tournament in Hobart, Deepak Thakur stole the thunder when he scored a scintillating hat-trick in style against the underdogs, Scotland, and then, he again notched up a superb hat-trick against Argentina in the final to create a history of sorts. Deepak Thakur became a celebrity in India overnight. His performance is unparalleled in Indian hockey till date. Amazingly, he has achieved this distinction in such a short time. Deepak Thakur Sonkhla was born on December 28 1980 in Bhamowal village in Hoshiarpur district. A Rajput by caste, he has a sister, younger to him, who is a national badminton player. Deepak Thakur was about nine years of age when he was inducted in hockey by his father who was an armyman. He was in Mount Shivalik Public School in Una (Himachal Pradesh) when he developed interest in hockey. “I used to train at the stadium in Una, but there was no coach who could guide me,” he recalls nostalgically. It was in 1993 that he got an opening to receive systematic training when he was selected during the trials at Ludhiana Sports Authority of India centre. He was taken in SAI Sports Promotion Development Area (SPDA) Training Centre in Patiala and he got the opportunity for the first time to have a feel of the synthetic hockey field at the NIS in Patiala. During the men’s national hockey coaching camp at the NIS, he was highly motivated when he saw the players like Dhanraj Pillay in action. “I derived a lot of inspiration from Dhanraj Pillay’s style of playing. He is my model,” says Deepak Thakur. Another player who has inspired Deepak Thakur a great deal is the genius hockey player for Pakistan Shahbaz Ahmed. The SPDA hockey centre in Patiala started in May 1991 with eight boys under SAI hockey coach Inderjit Singh Gill. Deepak Thakur was not in the centre at that time. A year later, one player was removed from the centre, but in 1993, three more players — Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh and Yudhvir — were inducted in it. In 1994, 13 more players joined the centre which had firmly established its feet. It was in 1994 that Deepak Thakur first played in a tournament. He played for Punjab schools in the pre-Nehru Qualifying Round Hockey Tournament at Jalandhar. The same year he played in the sub-Junior Nehru Hockey Tournament in Delhi for SPDA Centre which earned the fourth position. The real break for Deepak Thakur came in September 1997 when the under-21 Indian hockey team toured Russia to play a series of Test matches. This apparently helped him to get the exposure and gain rich experience. In 1999, the men’s national hockey coaching camp was at the NIS in Patiala. The Indian team played a few practice matches against the SPDA Centre. V. Baskaran, who was coach of the Indian men’s hockey team, was much impressed by Deepak Thakur and expressed a liking for him. Deepak Thakur was already in the limelight a year before when he was declared the best player in the Surjit Memorial Hockey Tournament at Jalandhar. Ever since, Deepak Thakur never looked back. His progress was slow, but he went up the ladder, step by step. The floodgates opened for him when he made four foreign tours to Germany-Belgium, Malaysia, South Africa and again to Malaysia. In 2000, he went to play for India in the four-nation hockey tournament at Perth (Australia) where India won the title. The same year he played in the Junior Asia Cup Hockey Tournament in Malaysia where he scored 15 field goals in eight matches. Later, he went with the Indian team to the Sydney Olympics where he scored a goal against Argentina. A year later, he went to Malaysia to play in the Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament which saw nine teams in action. He scored five field goals for
India, who earned a bronze medal. At the Prime Minister’s Gold Cup Hockey Tournament in Dhaka in 2001, where India won the gold medal, Deepak Thakur scored six field goals. Nine teams took part in the tournament. The same year, he played Test matches against Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. His last outing for India was the Champion Challenger Cup hockey tournament in Malaysia where India won the gold medal and Deepak Thakur, with six field goals, was the highest scorer. |
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Vedpathak shines
in European circuit ANJALI
Vedpathak, with her superb performance in the women’s air rifle, has provided hope that India can secure a shooting medal at the Olympics. Recently the 32-year-old Vedpathak, an Inspector with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at Mumbai, astonished all with her achievement in the European Circuit. With Abhinav Bindra, India now has another shooter, who is winning medals in the circuit This consistent and the magnificent performance of the Sydney Olympic finalist drew praise from all. Vedpathak, at the National Games in Punjab, had said that her aim was to shot around 398 in future meets, which she made came true. Anjali bagged seven individual medals — three gold, three silver and one bronze and once finished fourth — in eight competitions spread over Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. She shot scores of 398, 398, 395, 396, 396, 398, 397 and a national record of 399 to confirm that she is one of the best in the sport. She missed gold by narrow margins and once lost a tie-shoot for gold, while she clinched her first gold by a tie-shoot. Struggling with a backache, she showed the will to fight hard when pitted against the best in the world. Unlike Abhinav Bindra, she does not have a shooting range at home. The shooting range at Worli (Mumbai), where she practises, is quite far from her residence. Shooting experts are of the view that at present, Vedpathak and Bindra are the best medal prospects at the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games 2002 and then 2004 Olympics. Mr Gurbir Sandhu, President, Punjab Rifle Shooting Association, terms shooting as a sport of the future. ‘‘Abhinav is sincere and a hard worker who does not miss practice for even a single day,’’ says Col J.S. Dhillon, who trains him when ever Bindra is in Chandigarh. “The day is not far when shooting will be the most sought after sport, bringing in a good which will build the maximum number of medals for India at various international meets,” he asserts. Bindra shot an average score of 594/600 in the European meets but he is a fighter who does not quit and strives to come back from an low ebb. Along with Vedpathak and Bindra, 16-year-old Ronak Pandit, who shone in the junior air pistol event, winning a rich haul of gold medals, is also seen as the bright future hope. Promising city shooter Sabeeha Dhillon, had a setback as she was dropped at the last minute for the European tour by the National Rifle Association of India. Her exclusion remains unanswered, where as other junior shooters like Meena Kumari and Raj Kumari were included in the team. |
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What is wrong with
DDCA? PLAYERS, the paying public and the working press have always been of least concern to the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association
(DDCA), one of the founder members of the Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI). Junior state players are virtually ticked off tersely by the arrogant officials when they make a bee-line for ‘entry permit’ for any international match, particularly
one-dayer. Senior players particularly past Ranji players, are made to toss about. They wait in vain for hours before they walk out of the Kotla premises disappointed, dejected and disgusted. This is not all. But the current Ranji team is thrown out of its abode” Kotla because the authorities are engaged in making “bandobast” for an international match. The practice wickets at Kotla are, however, no more than ‘akharas’ (wrestling pits). Even former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi has been reduced to being a “mute observer” since he is now the professional coach of the team. An international match is allotted to Delhi months in advance. But only about 10,000 tickets of different denominations are sent to the bank
(Canara) two days prior to the match. This is the DDCA-made ploy to create needless anxiety and panic among cricket enthusiasts. The paying public make all-out efforts to secure tickets, often at an exorbitant rate through the black market, which is engineered more by ‘insiders’ than by any outside agency. Only a handful of ticket-holders secure admittance because of the pivotal seats have already been occupied by free-loaders, gate-crashers and friends (relations) of high and mighty officials of the
DDCA. The plight of ticket-holders, when inside the stadium, worsens as they are provided no facility whatsoever. The working journalists are subjected to harassment as part of the “press enclosure’ is forcibly taken away by the DDCA officials for their own kith and kin who translate the place into a picnic spot. They talk loudly, roam about and stand up making it impossible for the journalists to work in peace. When the match ends, the DDCA officials make solemn promises that it will not be repeated. But it happens again and again and again. Maybe, the arrangements will be slightly better for the
India-Zimbabwe match since it is a five-day version instead of one-dayer. It is often asked: What ails the
DDCA”? The answer is simple. It is a totally diseased body, which needs complete overhauling even after staging 27 Tests
and 12
one-dayers since the Test match against West-Indians in November 1948. Statistics show that Delhi (save Kolkata) has staged more matches than any other venue in the country. No reform in the DDCA is possible because a group has a big say with the majority of the 3700 members. The proxy voting is
permissible since the DDCA works under the umbrella of the Company Law Board. This proxy-system cannot be allowed to change because it suits the group in power. Of the 3700 members, more than 3500 members are “sleeping members”. They do not visit Kotla even 10 times a year. While a majority of the members do not use the club, outsiders
unaccompanied by members and also often without paying “guest fee” make the most of the ‘bar
(Mahkhana) and card room. Currently, every member pays Rs 900 as annual subscription. He gets at home a ticket valued at Rs 2000. He will get another ticket of the same value for the match against Zimbabwe. In other words he gets more out of the DCA than he pays. The bulk of these tickets are not delivered. These are the tickets which are sold in the black by people who have access to these tickets. The question is why should every member be given a complimentary ticket when he is of no use to the club. He should be provided a ticket, if at all, at concessional rate instead of complimentary. There are office-bearers, whose wives, brothers, sisters and relations are members. They secure all thee tickets in addition to their stipulated quota as directors from the
DDCA. If the office-bearers of the DDCA are office-bearers of the BCCI, they get a further quota. |
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Kudos to Johansson for title win Kudos to Thomas Johansson, the 16th seed Swede, who claimed his maiden Grand Slam title. He vanquished the Russian ninth seed Marat Safin 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 in four sets in the final of the Australian Open in Melbourne to be crowned champion. After losing the first set, Johansson fought his way back superbly and dominated completely over his rival in other sets to assert his supremacy. Safin’s win over Sampras had strengthened his belief in himself but he failed to translate that belief into victory in the final as he found the Swede as combustible as Goran Ivanisevic who last year performed an amazing transformation to win the Wimbledon title Safin committed several unforced errors and appeared flattened by the searing on-court temperature. Consequently he was evicted. This year’s Australian Open proved to be the graveyard of so many top seeded players who tumbled out one after the other leaving the field open for the lesser known mortals. Johansson rose to the occasion, capitalised on the prevailing situation and deservedly captured the title. TARSEM S. BUMRAH Batala Ganguly’s captaincy I fail to understand on what ground the BCCI has appointed Saurav Ganguly captain of the Indian cricket team against Zimbabwe. He was a big failure in the series recently against England. Had there been any other captain, India would have won the one-day series. The captain is supposed to put up a good show and then guide the other team-mates. But he failed badly on this account. SUBHASH C. TANEJA Rohtak Punjab’s victory Punjab defeated Orissa by 243 runs and reached the semifinals of the Ranji Trophy. The turning point in the game was Amritsar batsman Munish Sharma’s knocks of 99 and 73. Punjab bowlers Vineet Sharma and Navdeep Singh bowled superbly. MANDEEP SINGH Ludhiana II Under the stewardship of former Test cricketer, Pankaj Dharmani, Punjab defeated Orissa by 243 runs and entered the semifinals of Ranji Trophy. Bhupinder Singh deserves praise for the final performance. ISMEET KAUR Ludhiana |
Arvind Katyal
