By K. Datta, IANS
New Delhi : It was an enchanting display of hockey that the Joaquim Carvalho coached India served at Chennai’s Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium as they swept past higher ranked Korea in the Asia Cup final.
It was mesmerizing and authentic, a throwback to happier times. Not in a long time have we seen an exhilarating exhibition by an Indian hockey team.
When Carvalho was handed charge, Indian hockey was passing through one of its most miserable phases in its history. The country had reached its nadir in last year’s World Cup in Germany (11th out of 12 teams) followed by an ignominious medalless return from the Doha Asian Games.
The hurt was made worse by their loss to China, rookies of Asian and world hockey.
The Indian Hockey Federation simply had to do something in the nature of a damage control exercise because of the adverse “dysfunctional” observation against its administration by the FIH, the world body.
So the axe inevitably had to fall on the coaches the way it had fallen time and again in the past. So frequent were the changes of coaches that they were sarcastically described as the ‘aya rams and gaya rams’ (transit passengers) of Indian hockey.
Yet, taking over the most insecure job in Indian sport, Carvalho declared with faith in his heart that Indian hockey was not dead, no matter if India had failed to win a medal at Doha.
It was a very depressing time for Indian sport, for when Carvalgho was about to take his team to the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia, Rahul Dravid’s cricketers miserably failed to even enter the world cup quarter-final stages in the West Indies after suffering an unbelievable defeat by Bangladesh.
Carvalho demanded a degree of freedom and non-interference in his work and was wisely left to do his job the way he wanted it done.
In a matter of months he turned things around with back-to-back bronze medals in the Azlan Shah Cup and the Champions Challenge at Boom, Belgium. The Chennai Asian Cup triumph now has brought fresh life and joy to the Indian hockey masses.
Carvalho attributes his team’s success to a tactical plan, which his players stuck to and refused to relax till the very last hooter was sounded. As the players rained goals on Korea from all angles, clearly one could sense among the players a new ‘josh’ (energy) and a feeling of faith in their own abilities.
The way the midfield and forwards came to each other’s support and played as a cohesive unit, was a sight worth going a long way to see. Seldom in the past has the midfield risen to such heights as one saw at Chennai.
The skill with the ball and stick and the body dodges were a visible improvement over what Indian hockey fans were accustomed to seeing in the recent past. Few passes went astray and few shots at goal were luckily off the mark. It was a day when everything went well for India.
As for luck, the golfing icon Tiger Woods has said the more one practices the better one’s luck. The man was saying it in the context of putting in the game of golf.
But on Sunday night at Chennai the Indian team showed that it had practised hard in the recent weeks and months. Carvalho and the man who looked after the physical fitness of the players deserve their share of credit for only the fit can practice hard.
Carvalho’s choice of the playing eleven on the basis of current form rather than past record and reputation was commendable. He followed the principle even when he chose Baljit Singh over the internationally more experienced Adrian D’Souza to play in goal. As it turned out, Baljit was adjudged man of the match.
Zafar Iqbal, captain of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic team, in which Carvalho played as one of two centre-halfs, the first time the tactic was used by the late coach Balkrishan Singh, was all praise for his old mate.
“You simply have to hand it to Carvalho for India’s success in the Asia Cup. Good luck to him also for the future,” said Zafar.
“The self-confidence of the players was clearly visible, something seldom seen in the recent years,” he added.
High praise also came from good old Cdr. Nandy Singh.
“If the team has undergone such a transformation, the credit must go to Carvalho,” the veteran of the 1948 and 1952 Olympics said night Sunday.
Joining the chorus was Ashok Kumar, star of the 1975 World Cup winning team.
Said Ashok Kumar: “It was a very encouraging display and I congratulate Carvalho and his players on whom he has done such a wonderful job. The Asia Cup win is a huge morale booster for Indian hockey. But we should guard against euphoria setting in. It still has a long way to go.”
Carry on, Joaquim. Be assured the good wishes of the hockey masses are with you.