Can Hockey monitors please clean up their act?
Pakistan will always be Pakistan: A cry baby in defeat, crying foul when it’s all fair and claiming to be fair when it is all foul. And that’s the reason why its hockey team has blamed crowd abuse as the reason of its 4-7 defeat at the hands of India.
It was amazing but all through the Commonwealth Games, the Indian crowd was overtly supportive and appreciative of Pakistani athletes. At the hockey match, they cannot be faulted for noisily supporting their home nation India but all through the eventful clash in the middle, not even once there was any booing or discouragement of the Pakistanis. In fact, there were claps for their four goals too. And everyone, with no exception, stood up dutifully when their national anthem was being played.
And it was not only about hockey. In the boxing and wrestling rings, where the Pakistanis were at play, and even won a medal or two, the cheers were all for them — second of course to the Indian athletes. Such impeccable crowd behaviour, that too Pakistan’s sustained protection of terror attackers on Indian soil and their agency’s involvement in most cases, is surprising in itself. Generally, the crowd takes it out on people when they are desperate to not be embarrassed.
One example of that was what they did to the beleaguered Suresh Kalmadi when he addressed the 60,000-strong opening and closing ceremonies. The collective booing from the stands not only made the poor guy very nervous and fidgety but also looked very embarrassing for the nation which was going live to many countries those two nights.
But then that’s what Indian democracy is all about — letting its people do what not many countries would allow them to. In that context, the baseless allegations made by the team that returned to its nation across the border look even more ridiculous and one is sure it will not have many takers even in their own constituency. Perhaps, they should look within and see how weak and unguided the Pakistani hockey team was, especially because most of the known names had quit in their earlier humiliating outing to India during the March World Cup. In taking positives from their CWG campaign they could now strengthen their administration and arrest it from becoming like the Pakistan Cricket Board which cannot exist without hurtling chaos.
Speaking of sports administrators and game ministrations, the Hockey India could be a sister concern of PCB if the chaotic conditions are to be compared.
Think about it: India may have lost cripplingly to Australia but their show against both Pakistan and England was like a burst of hope. After more than two decades, the boys are finally playing the brand of hockey that will work on their rising status in the world. They showed they can be a team, they showed they can improvise, that they have gotten over being self-centred with the ball and they have shown how celestial they can get with pace, long passes and strategy.
All this, under the hard work of their coach Jose Brasa after whom the administration is now gunning! Considering that the qualifiers for the Olympics are just some months away and the Indian team needs a compact continuity, it will be sheer disaster to not renew the contract of Brasa and bring in a new coach instead! One hopes that even the ego driven administrators who can’t think beyond their own self, will see how a chance for redemption will be lost forever. Imagine the boys who have finally started playing well and responding to Brasa’s guidance would now go into the hands of a new coach, new tactics, new ways of playing and an entirely new strategy!
Yes, Brasa may have had his issues but not all can be way off the mark. Why a coach who comes in after the legendary Australian Ric Charlesworth was humiliated and forced to quit by the same administrators, would not want to prove himself is beyond imagination. Perhaps, in the interest of our national game and the national pride that is attached to it, these sparring administrators could look beyond themselves and come to a table to sort out issues and get over with dirty tricks like humiliating the poor man by slashing him off the list of invitees to the PM’s office for CWG felicitation!
A tall order considering the past performance of the monitors of the game. But then, hope flutters eternal in human breast.
Source: Sunday Pioneer, October 24, 2010
It was amazing but all through the Commonwealth Games, the Indian crowd was overtly supportive and appreciative of Pakistani athletes. At the hockey match, they cannot be faulted for noisily supporting their home nation India but all through the eventful clash in the middle, not even once there was any booing or discouragement of the Pakistanis. In fact, there were claps for their four goals too. And everyone, with no exception, stood up dutifully when their national anthem was being played.
And it was not only about hockey. In the boxing and wrestling rings, where the Pakistanis were at play, and even won a medal or two, the cheers were all for them — second of course to the Indian athletes. Such impeccable crowd behaviour, that too Pakistan’s sustained protection of terror attackers on Indian soil and their agency’s involvement in most cases, is surprising in itself. Generally, the crowd takes it out on people when they are desperate to not be embarrassed.
One example of that was what they did to the beleaguered Suresh Kalmadi when he addressed the 60,000-strong opening and closing ceremonies. The collective booing from the stands not only made the poor guy very nervous and fidgety but also looked very embarrassing for the nation which was going live to many countries those two nights.
But then that’s what Indian democracy is all about — letting its people do what not many countries would allow them to. In that context, the baseless allegations made by the team that returned to its nation across the border look even more ridiculous and one is sure it will not have many takers even in their own constituency. Perhaps, they should look within and see how weak and unguided the Pakistani hockey team was, especially because most of the known names had quit in their earlier humiliating outing to India during the March World Cup. In taking positives from their CWG campaign they could now strengthen their administration and arrest it from becoming like the Pakistan Cricket Board which cannot exist without hurtling chaos.
Speaking of sports administrators and game ministrations, the Hockey India could be a sister concern of PCB if the chaotic conditions are to be compared.
Think about it: India may have lost cripplingly to Australia but their show against both Pakistan and England was like a burst of hope. After more than two decades, the boys are finally playing the brand of hockey that will work on their rising status in the world. They showed they can be a team, they showed they can improvise, that they have gotten over being self-centred with the ball and they have shown how celestial they can get with pace, long passes and strategy.
All this, under the hard work of their coach Jose Brasa after whom the administration is now gunning! Considering that the qualifiers for the Olympics are just some months away and the Indian team needs a compact continuity, it will be sheer disaster to not renew the contract of Brasa and bring in a new coach instead! One hopes that even the ego driven administrators who can’t think beyond their own self, will see how a chance for redemption will be lost forever. Imagine the boys who have finally started playing well and responding to Brasa’s guidance would now go into the hands of a new coach, new tactics, new ways of playing and an entirely new strategy!
Yes, Brasa may have had his issues but not all can be way off the mark. Why a coach who comes in after the legendary Australian Ric Charlesworth was humiliated and forced to quit by the same administrators, would not want to prove himself is beyond imagination. Perhaps, in the interest of our national game and the national pride that is attached to it, these sparring administrators could look beyond themselves and come to a table to sort out issues and get over with dirty tricks like humiliating the poor man by slashing him off the list of invitees to the PM’s office for CWG felicitation!
A tall order considering the past performance of the monitors of the game. But then, hope flutters eternal in human breast.
Source: Sunday Pioneer, October 24, 2010
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