Mumbai
Since that epochal outing at Moscow 1980, our ‘national game’ has become a different ball game due to the rule changes and innovations introduced by the European nations. This arguably has undermined the supremacy of the two sub-continental field hockey superpowers.
A 60-minute four-quarter affair, blue artificial surface, abolition of the offside rule, turning, self-starts, rolling substitutions, reverse hits, drag flicks, innovative shoot outs etc, have transformed modern hockey into a fast, furious and often dangerous spectacle.
During this period our men have churned out performances ranging from the not so sublime to the ridiculous. At the Olympics, we have twice come close to scripting a possible podium finish, in 1984 and 2000, only to falter at the last hurdle before the semi-final stage.
The Sydney denouement was more agonizing, when Poland snatched a last minute equalizer (1-1) in the last pool fixture to dent India’s progress.
We’ve also touched rock bottom, like the cellar position in 2012 and the failure to qualify for Beijing four years earlier.
Perhaps, the lack of towering figures and individual match winners like Hassan Sardar, Shabaz Ahmed, Sohail Abbas for Pakistan, Floris Jan Bovelander (Holland) or Moritz Fureste (Germany) may have hindered our cause.
We still don’t have them, and the domestic game too is in the near doldrums after decades of neglect. Yet, India’s fortunes have enjoyed a turnaround in recent times.
The consecutive runner up finishes in the Champions Trophy and two third places in the Hockey World League plus a respectable fourth in the FIH world rankings suggests that things are looking up.
On the distaff side, the women have begun to qualify for the big ticket events. The 2002 Commonwealth Games gold was indeed a chak de moment for our hockey heroines.
If the men’s squad can replicate the heroics of the distant past at Tokyo 2021, if that transpires, it will be a new dawn for Indian hockey.
