Its hard to figure out who actually lost the most. It was the hockey team who squandered this opportunity-of-lifetime to rise to the occasion and grab some much sought after recognition or if it was the Indian hockey as a whole.
Whatever be the case, everybody is disappointed after this huge let down.
It all started with Virender sehwag saying ‘Fir dil do hockey ko’ and Rajyavardhan rathod, taking us on gunpoint, warning we better start following this game,as, his shooting skills are (still) good. And when the glam quotient was added by priyanka chopra, it seemed the Indian Hockey has finally arrived- wrapped in correct package!
Afterall, its not everyday we get to see a long legged sexy lass hosting a hockey pre match show!
When India defeated Pakistan in the opening game, the euphoria it generated was comparable to what a cricket victory generates. The TV channels ushered all praises and superlative sentences for the team. They roped in every former hockey player who spoke decent English and made them a hockey expert overnight.
Unfortunately this didn’t last long. As India plays with Proteas tonight, the chances for a fourth consecutive defeat is not slim at all.
We don’t have a decent drag flicker to convert penalty corners while we have conceded 9 out of 18. Sandeep singh’s report card with 3 out or 12 is not good. Sorry.
The Indian hockey was on a rise for a brief period after 2002 when few juniors from Hobart world cup winning squad were inducted in the team.
From that lot, Gagan Ajit singh and Viren Rasquinha have quit long time back citing reasons that everybody apart from FIH knows very well whereas Prabhjot singh , Deepak thakur are in late 20s, and their promises have aged too.
Frankly speaking It was not fair to expect the team to start winning just because it had acquired our emotional support and we all wanted them to win.
I am not a hockey follower or expert but our stick work looked far behind than the scientific hockey showcased by Europeans.
No one really had any hope with Indian team anyway. Ranked 12th in the world, fighting for sponsorship and money just before the event, it was hitting headlines for all the wrong reasons. Until the ‘Fir dil do’ campaign happened which eventually turned out to be like our junior minister of external affiars’ tweet: Grabbed all attention and still made no difference.
The IPL follows soon after. The hearts will be back to where it belonged -National obsession called Cricket.
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