By K. Datta
Even as coach Joaquim Carvalho's boys were sweating it out in the Malaysian city of Ipoh Wednesday for a victory over Argentina to get a place in the semi-finals of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament, Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Mani Shankar Aiyar stated in the Lok Sabha that men's hockey had been "demoted" from "priority" to "general" category owing to the continuous poor performance of the national team in all major tournaments in the recent past.
Aiyar's comments came in response to a question on the performance of the Indian hockey team by MPs M. Shivanna, Jai Prakash and Milind Deora. Soon after the Indian team returned home without a medal from the Doha Asian Games in December, several former hockey Olympians had staged a demonstration in Delhi to express their anguish. The MPs began their question asking if it was true that the demonstration was held "against the negative attitude of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) as a result of which the standard in the country is constantly declining" and ended it by seeking to know "the corrective steps taken, or proposed to be taken, to improve the performance of the Indian hockey team.
Referring to the "demotion", former Olympic captain Zafar Iqbal said while sending a clear signal to the IHF to pull up its socks, the sports minister should remember that the government's job was to promote the game and not demote it.
To promote the game it should ensure that the IHF takes steps to activate the state associations whose duty it is to see that hockey is played in the districts, as it once used to be. "That is the reason why the flow of talent has dried up," he said. "Merely holding annual general meetings and elections won't do any longer," he added.
Former star forward Ashok Dhyan Chand, who was active in organising the last winter's protest march by the hockey veterans, has termed the removal of hockey from the priority list as "nothing more than a wake-up call" to the IHF whose functioning has also reportedly drawn adverse comment from Dutchman Bob Davidzon, entrusted with the mission of suggesting remedial measures by the international hockey federation (FIH) following India's poor showing in last summer's world cup in Germany where it finished 11th of 12 teams.
The government has categorised recognised national sports federations into three categories based on their performance in the Olympics/Asian/Commonwealth/SAF Games and world championships.
Under the "priority" and "general" categories, financial assistance is given for participation in international competitions and training abroad, the purchase of equipment, coaching camps organised by the Sports Authority of India and holding national/international tournaments in India; while for the "others" category, financial assistance is given only for holding the annual national championships.
Protesting veteran Olympians had submitted a memorandum to the minister for sports and the president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) requesting an inquiry into the financial dealings of the IHF; dissolution of the present IHF set-up and the formation of an ad hoc committee of experts to take immediate measures to enable the Indian team to qualify for the 2008 Olympics.
Concerned at India's performance in hockey, the government has sought the intervention of the IOA in this regard, the minister stated. The IHF had assured that it was making sustained efforts to restore the country to its rightful place in the world of hockey, but despite its tall claims the performance of the team was not upto expectations because of unfortunate accidents and injuries involving some key players, Aiyar added in his reply.
Zafar hoped that a couple of victories would enable hockey to regain its "priority" status, a hope many a hockey lover would like to share. No matter what the category, priority or general, Indian hockey is not dead, they would like to believe. Carvalho, at Ipoh and elsewhere later on, is one who would do all he can to prove that it is alive and kicking.
(K. Datta is a veteran sports writer. He can be contacted at [email protected])