Hooked on hockey
Bibhuti Mishra

Hockey is a religion in Indian captain Dilip Tirkey’s village

In Sounamara, a sleepy tribal village in Sundargarh district of Orissa, a hockey stick is considered a gift from God. No visitor can miss the hockey sticks of different makes (from bamboo roots to kendu branches) and different sizes (numbering over 30), neatly arranged in stacks near the students lining up for prayer in Sounamara Middle English School.

“The sticks belong to the students.” says Bhagirathi Nayak, a schoolteacher. “You will not find a single tribal boy outdoors without his hockey stick”.

This school is also the alma mater of Dilip Tirkey, captain of the Indian team. “It is here that Dilip honed his skills,” says Headmaster Peter Toppo. Others inform that he showed early signs of brilliance. Says Nayak, who taught him, “He is still the same shy, unassuming and loving boy, who treats everyone with the same respect”.

People of his village miss Dilip, since he hardly finds time to come here, but whenever he does, he definitely plays with the local boys.

Missionaries came to Sundergarh district in the first decade of the 20th century, establishing churches and started evangelical work. They probably introduced hockey to attract tribals to schools. It did not involve much expenses as they could procure the necessary equipment for playing the game from bamboo roots and branches of kendu tree found in abundance here. The branch is bent and kept in that shape for one month to give the angle necessary for a hockey stick. The bael fruit wrapped in cloth serves as a ball and two big bricks placed some distance apart work as the goalpost.

The Indian Hockey Federation’s long-term plan to spot, develop and nurture talent in Rourkela is because of the Panposh Hockey Hostel. Set up here by the state government in 1985, it is producing talented players on a fairly regular basis. These players, however, are not from the city but from the tribal area of Sundergarh, which has probably produced more national-level players than any other such region.

Apart from Dilip Tirkey’s village Sounamara, the nearby village of Lulkidihi has produced international players like Prabodh and Ignace Tirkey.

However, the genesis of adivasi presence in Indian hockey started with the first international from the state, Michael Kindo, former Olympian and member of the 1975 World Cup winning team. “Hockey is a part of our culture and is next only to God,” says Kindo.

Khasi (circumcised he-goat) tournaments are regularly held in which villages participate. The winners get a khasi, while the runners-up a pair of cocks and sometimes cups and shields along with the live baits. Hockey is played on every occasion in the area. There is a game after Sunday Mass. After every village haat, teams congregate for a quicker version of the game, where the match duration is reduced but the rules remain the same. Sometimes, there could even be a friendly match between the relatives of the bride and the groom after the nuptials.

For the tribesmen, hockey is the only source of entertainment. They hardly miss any chance to play it. They can play even on a small patch of land amid the cattle. Besides, it least matters to them whether the infrastructure available is proper or not.

With the passage of time, the game has undergone a metamorphosis of sorts as far as the equipment is concerned. Now they wear the team dress, some play with shoes and use proper sticks, though slightly costly. The sheen guard is missing and the goalkeeper has nothing but the stick to protect himself. Sticks made from bamboo roots or kendu branches are going out of fashion.

Sounamara is one of the four places where Orissa is planning to set up mini rural stadia for the promotion of hockey, the other three being Lulkidihi, Tileikani and Kinjrikela.

Dilip’s father Vincen, a former CRPF personnel, has a small bamboo stick, not more than 2.5 feet long, closely resembling a hockey stick. Displaying his prized possession, he says: “This is Dilip’s first hockey stick. I am using it now as a walking stick.”

“We teach our sons to play hockey so that God will be happy,” says Vincen. Dilip’s success has becoming a driving force for every young tribal boy in the area and many of them dream of making it to Indian team one day.

Yet another flop show
Abhijit Chatterjee

Mohammad Kaif’s superb batting was the saving grace for India

A different venue. A different tournament. And a different opponent. But the story from the Harare Sports Club was no different as India surrendered rather tamely to New Zealand in the final of the Videocon Cup. By losing in the final, India lost yet another opportunity to register a won in a multi-team series for the first time since March, 1999.

During this period the Indian team has figured in no less than 20 finals, losing 15 while the remaining failed to produce a result. Full marks to the Kiwis, who were absolutely focused on the game both while fielding and, more importantly, while batting.

On most of the occasions when India lost in the final of a tournament it were the batsmen who let the team down. But at Harare the batsmen as well as the bowlers must share the blame for the defeat. India batted first and scored 276 when at one stage it seemed they could go well past the 300-run mark. When it was the turn of the bowlers to deliver, they bowled, badly failing to keep to the fundamentals as the Kiwis raced to their first 100 runs in just 12 overs.

The biggest problem for the Indians in this tournament was the fact that their top batsmen — Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and skipper Sourav Ganguly — were simply not in top form. In the final, Sehwag did finally get his half century after 15 innings but both Dravid and Ganguly struggled with the bat. Rahul did not trouble the scorer at all while Ganguly went for 31, still trying to find his rhythm. While some are saying that the Indian skipper should be given some more time to regain form, others are clamouring for his immediate removal from the hot seat.

At this point of time, two things are working in Ganguly’s favour. First, victory in the upcoming two-match Test series against a depleted Zimbabwe team and a couple of good scores might help the southpaw to regain his confidence. Second, vice-captain Dravid is also going through a lean patch with the bat. These two factors might yet see Ganguly keen the skipper’s mantle in the coming home series against Sri Lanka and South Africa but time is definitely running out for Team India if they are to have a realistic look at the 2007 World Cup.

The one bright spot of the Indian campaign was the batting form of Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Dhoni and above all Mohammad Kaif. These youngsters showed what results good application could produce. But here again one would fault the team management because in the final, when the Indians needed some quick runs, it was Rao who was sent in ahead of the in-form Dhoni. And by the time Dhoni did come out to bat the Kiwis had taken the game away from the Indians.

The tournament has proved yet again that Indian cricket needs major correctives and not minor adjustments here and there. How it is to be done is for coach Greg Chappell and the powers that be that run the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to decide. But they will have to take very harsh steps if Indian cricket is to be pulled out from the stupor it has fallen into. With the elections to the BCCI coming up late this month and the selection committee also likely to change, the game itself might have to take a back seat for the time being.

In Zimbabwe, unlike in Sri Lanka, where they could not win a single match against the hosts, the Indian team did win a match against eventual winners New Zealand in the league stage but the win, in the final analysis, did not give the Indian team the boost it needed when it mattered the most. The schedule foul-up and the loss of some players’ passports made matters worse.

IN THE NEWS
Golden girl
Rubinder Gill

Manjit Kaur won two of India’s four gold medals at the Asian Athletics Championships last week

One athletics event in which India has done fairly well over the years is the women’s 400 metres. Manjit Kaur, who won gold medals in 400 metres and 4x400 metres at the16th Asian Athletics Championship in South Korea recently, is the latest addition to the league of illustrious runners like PT Usha, Shiny Wilson, Rosakutty and K. Beenamol.

After a long time, Punjab has produced an outstanding athlete in the one-lap race. Kamaljit had won at the 1974 Asian Games, but during the 1980s, Kerala enjoyed hegemony in the event.

Manjit has all the physical attributes of a good 400 metres runner, according to former athletics coach J.S. Saini, who has had a hand in grooming her at the junior level. She is quiet tall and powerfully built. She has a big kick towards the end of the race, says Saini. In the first 200 metres she is generally nowhere but then she covers a lot of ground and pips here rivals at the post.

During a race in Chennai last year, Manjit phased out the challenge from Chitra K. Soman of Kerala in the last 50 metres with her power. She set the national record of 51.05 seconds, erasing Beenamol’s name from the record books. Beenamol had set the record of 51.21s in 2000 at Kiev, Ukraine, shattering P.T. Usha’s 15-year-old record.

Manjit, in her early twenties, hails from Gurdaspur. A product of the junior athletics programme, she has slowly graduated to the big level. “She came to us in 1999 for the junior camps. She won a silver medal in 2001 at the Asian Junior Athletics Championship, though we were expecting a gold,” says Saini.

Manjit faces good competition from her relay squad members as well. Manjit and Geetha made it 1-2 for India at South Korea . It has helped in building a strong relay squad as well. Rajwinder Kaur, Satti Geetha, Chitra Soman and Manjit won the relay in championship record time of 3:30.93.

At Athens last year, Manjit was instrumental in the team’s qualification for the 4x400 m relay final for only the second time in the Olympics. The Indian team of Rajwinder Kaur, K. Beenamol, Chitra Soman and Manjit Kaur finished third in the second heat and set a national record of 3.26.89, erasing the earlier mark of 3.28.49. With a running time of 49.78, Manjit ran spectacularly, covering lost ground and in the process helping set the record. She did not run in the final, where a slow India finished seventh.

India had earlier reached the finals of the Olympics in 1984 at Los Angeles. At that time, PT Usha, MD Valsamma, Vandana Rao and Shiny Wilson had also finished seventh in the final.

Coach Saini feels that had India also entered Manjit in the individual event at the Olympics, she could have made an impact. “We concentrated only on the relay. Manjit could have made it to the semifinals in the 400m race.”

If she keeps going great guns, Manjit is likely to make her presence felt at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Before that she will be aiming for medals at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games. If given a fair deal, Manjit can win more laurels for the country.