Indian hockey: Team spirit is a goal too far

Amardeep Bhattal

IT was on a cool, sombre morning of February 28, 2002, that I called on Indian captain Baljit Singh Dhillon at the Concorde in the Malaysian capital. India had blown away their chances of entering the semifinals of the World Cup the previous evening and a sense of despondency had engulfed the national team. Dinner had been a formality, as none had the appetite.

After a morning jog, the players stayed back in their rooms and Baljit said they would be concentrating on finishing among the top eight. But that dream also did not materialise as the Indians finished at the tenth position.

"It is experience that counts in a major event like the World Cup," Baljit said while referring to some lacklustre showing by the green horns in the initial phase.

The team that Baljit had at his command comprised some youngsters who had never played in as big an event as the World Cup. Some had graduated from the junior team which had won the junior World Cup at Hobart in Austarlia in 2001, beating Argentina 6-1 in the final.

When India were due to take on lowly Japan in their opening tie on February 24, 2002, the statement of Japanese team manager Toichi Nagai that his team would strive for a winning start was sought to be rubbished by diehard Indian fans. After all, statistics were clearly loaded against the Japanese, who had never won against India. Both India and Japan had made their debut in the World Cup at Barcelona in 1971, where India won the bronze and Japan finished ninth. In the second World Cup, India and Japan were in the same pool. While India won the silver, Japan ended up at the tenth position. Even in the preliminaries, India had beaten Japan 5-0.

Just prior to the tenth World Cup, the qualifying tournament played at Edinburg in July 2001, saw India defeating Japan 2-0 and 4-3. Later, in the Champions Challenge Trophy at Kuala Lumpur in December 2001, India beat Japan 3-0.

But on February 24, the Indians were all at sea against the Japanese in the lung opener of the World Cup at Kuala Lumpur. The defence seemed to crumble while the midfielders struggled for a foothold. A few minutes from theLater, Dhanraj Pillay succeeded in cutting the deficit off a move by Baljit Dhillon while Deepak Thakur eventually succeeded in restoring parity.

"Playing in a junior tournament and the senior World Cup or the Olympics are altogether different ball games," Baljit remarked, adding that the team should have a proper blend of youth and experience.

A veteran of over 300 internationals, Baljit Singh Dhillon, who has also been sidelined along with Dhanraj Pillay for the Olympic preparatory camp, made his debut in 1993 in the Test series against South Africa. Hailing from Padri Kalan village near Sursingh in Amritsar district, Baljit Dhillon who was born on June 18, 1973, is among the most experienced hockey players at present having played in the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics besides three Asia Cups and two Asian Games. He was also a key member of the Indian team which won the maiden Asia Cup title last year.

From the grounds of Jalandhar’s Doaba Khalsa Senior Secondary School and later Lyallpur Khalsa College, Baljit Dhillon has come a long way. Under his captaincy, India won the Prime Minister’s Gold Cup at Dhaka and the Champions Challenge Trophy at Kuala Lumpur in December, 2001, where he was also adjudged the Player of the Final. Given his vast international exposure, he can still be a threat to teams like Australia or Germany.

Prabhjot Singh

WITH just three months to go for the Athens Olympics, Indian hockey is embroiled in a major controversy over the composition of its team. This, when they should be finetuning skills and strategies for the prestigious event. Controversies, especially over selection of players, have been a tradition in Indian hockey. Mercurial Dhanraj Pillay, forward Baljit Singh Dhillon and halfback Baljit Singh Saini have had tremendous potential to be part of any hockey team of substance. They have served the country admirably.

Unfortunately, over the past few years, all three of them have been in and out of the team. Fitness was officially cited as the reason for keeping them out of the team on one occasion or the other. Whatever be the reasons, their failure to secure a permanent place in the team at a time when it has been doing well in international hockey, must have made youngsters looking for permanence to work hard and produce results justify their retention in the team. It portrays a healthy sign that our bench strength has improved and replacements are, if not more, equally competent to fill the gaps. No coach worth his salt would ever compromise on merit because his the onerous responsibility of producing the results. How many times the Indian Hockey Federation officials have quit over failure of our national team to do well in international competitions, including the Olympic Games and the World Cup. Either the coaches or the players had been taking the blame.

In 1964, before the team could leave the shores of the country for a tour of New Zealand on its way to Tokyo, dropping of fullback and then penalty corner specialist Prithipal Singh had hit the headlines. Prithipal, had earned the wrath of the then President of Indian Hockey Federation, Ashwani Kumar, by deciding to quit his job in the Punjab Police and join the Northern Railway.

The IHF bowed to pressure and Prithipal was included. Since he was not played in the first Test against New Zealand at Auckland, India lost 1-3. Wiser counsel prevailed and Prithipal was named in the starting XI but as a halfback and not a fullback. He refused to take the field saying that fullback his natural position and he would not play at any other position. Team officials relented. It was Prithipal who saw the team through both in the Christ Church (5-1) and Wellington (8-2) Test matches. On reaching Tokyo, Prithipal was the toast of the team where he earned the unofficial title of penalty king. In 1968 - the only time till then when India failed to make the Olympic Games, hockey final—a controversy over captaincy erupted. Gurbax Singh Kohli was named the captain. Prithipal protested. Ultimately, the IHF had to yield and named both Gurbax and Prithipal as joint captains.

In the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, after winning the 1975 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, it was virtually the same team. Again there was a controversy over naming of the skipper. And it slumped to its lowest position ever, seventh. Do controversies help the cause of Indian hockey ? This is a million-rupee question. Unfortunately, we have not learnt a lesson from the past. When the team went to Madrid to play in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Dhanraj Pillay was not included. The team qualified, though not without hiccups.

Though time for experimentation is over and the Olympics are on our hands. Why not organise a series of matches between India Red and India Blue in various parts of the country to choose the best available talent for the Athens mega event? This will help garner public support to the team to boost its morale and help to silence all those who are unhappy with the composition of the team.