THUMBING his nose at the mighty establishment that runs Indian hockey, former India captain Viren Rasquinah announced his retirement from international hockey today. Does anything shock in hockey anymore? Please don’t ask this question to “RESPECTED” selectors – Surinder Singh Sodhi, Harmik Singh, Ajit Pal Singh and Gurbux Singh. They have been after Viren’s head for quite some time now. Viren is one of the many player who has become the victims of politics continuing in IHF. Rasquinha was named captain of the Maratha Warriors at the just-concluded Premier Hockey League (PHL) but wasn’t even considered in the 29 probables for the national side for a 10-day camp in Bangalore. Arjun Halappa, player of the tournament in the fourth edition of the PHL, wasn’t considered too. The signal is clear. The team management doesn’t want seniors in the side.
Viren Rasquinha is one of those few, who lived that dream of playing Indian Hockey Team and made a great mark on International Arena. He has cited personal reasons for his retirement. He i snow joining International School of Business, Hyderabad for pursuing MBA. “I really do want to give my MBA a serious shot. And since hockey exhausts a lot of time and energy, it wouldn’t be possible to continue both simultaneously. That’s why I have decided to call it quits from international hockey,” the midfielder said.
Rasquinha, made his international debut in May 2002 at a four-nation tournament in Adelaide. He rapidly emerged as one of India’s top midfielders and also captained the team briefly. Rasquinha represented India at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the World Cup in 2006; he was part of the team that won the junior World Cup in 2001 and honoured with the Arjuna award for the year 2005.
Viren is an epitome of the new age Indian sportsman, a person who combines academic excellence with sporting brilliance, no wonder that the influential TIMES OF INDIA called him a “a role model for the young. He once said that “We have to learn to be a ruthless team. When the opposition is down, we have to finish them. No mercy. There has been an attitude change in the Indian team. We want to beat the opposition, we are not happy with a draw anymore. Today, other teams are looking at this Indian team with a lot of respect and fear”. This attitude of Viren made him the poster boy of Indian Hockey. His retirement has come as a blow for India’s chances in Olympics later this year. He should have been on the plane to Doha and also to Beijing. For those who have conspired to sack him, the blood on their hands will not be wiped so easily. Whatever be the reason for his retirement personal or professional i wish him all the success for his future endeavours.
Charlesworth will be directing the technical matters of both men’s and women’s national teams, senior and juniors included. This has created a furore between the two federations. The FIH hopes to resurrect the Indian game to its former glory. The FIH has itself taken an initiative to revive the field hockey in India, while authorities in the country are doing nothing.
Charlesworth has time and again made no secret of his desire to coach India. He may not have worked too much with a men’s team, but his grasp of the game and his experience gives rise to legitimate hopes that things can change for the better. Indian hockey needs inputs and guidance from professionals like Charlesworth to put in place a system, which would aim to provide a success mantra.
India’s high performance team preparation, all said and done, has a long way to go. Both men and women federations lack the vision and professionalism that this sport demands. Charlesworth is the most suited person for the position. Our hockey definitely needs his services. He is a person of repute, with hockey in his blood. His performance as a player and as a coach is of a very high standard. Also he is a very close follower of Indian hockey.
IHF committed a blunder in the past by turning down his offer to take up the coaching of Indian team. But now, all one can say is that it is better late than never. The think tank of IHF should be wise enough to utilise his services, for a much longer stint. Charlesworth has already said that you cannot prepare a team within a year. It is a time taking procedure. And he is very true.
The government of India should also step in and, in the larger perspective of game, should sack KPS Gill from his ‘lifetime’ presidentship.
What is wrong with Indian hockey is what is wrong with India in general. Bad administration, corrupt officials, unmotivated people, individuals caring more about themselves than the team, indiscipline and most importantly, no concrete plan to make things better. There is an urgent need for a total overhaul of the whole system to convert India into a champion side and this is the right time. After the commendable performance in Asia cup, it will be good if we can change the system now itself, so that it helps players to perform up to their potential.
INDIAN HOCKEY had gone blind. Like a once-beautiful woman choosing to be oblivious to the havoc age had wrought on her, hockey had refused to acknowledge and arrest its decline. It was a free fall into an abyss. That’s Indian hockey for you — governed by a body conducting matters in a manner that could remind you of the Middle Ages. The last year ended with India finishing last in the six-nation Champions Trophy in Chennai and thereby crashing out of the next event in Spain in July. The year also ended with the International Hockey Federation (FIH) President, Els van Breda Vriesman blasting the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) for being the worst national body among the top nations.
The IHF has not changed its style of functioning but the Indian hockey players have changed their ways in the last six months or so. First they won a bronze in Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament. India retained the Asia Cup giving South Korea a 7-2 drubbing on Sunday. The decisive manner in which the victory was scored has given the coach Joaquim Carvalho plenty of cause for optimism ahead of next year’s Olympic qualifiers. The win has brought the smiles back to many hockey fans and staunch supporters of the game. The number of people that turned out to watch the finals was also encouraging. The face of Indian Hockey will certainly change with a few more victories like this. The Indian Hockey team looked like a changed unit as well. The fitness level, the energy, the team spirit and the aggression was all there. Carvalho also hailed his players’ fitness and teamwork after the former world power rattled up 57 goals and conceded just five over seven games, beating South Korea twice and edging out surprise Asiad silver medalists China on the way to glory. It is difficult to single out any Indian player for appreciation as each one of them contributed, playing their roles to perfection in India’s win. They were rightly given a standing ovation by the spectators at the overflowing stadium.
The sports ministry, a few months back, withdrew hockey from the list of priority sports. The decision was not a welcome move for our national sport. Hockey has been the most successful sport in India. It is the only sport which has got gold medals for India at the Olympics. Now after a few good performances, the IOA President wants hockey to be back in the priority list. The President, Prime Minister, MPs, etc have congratulated the team on its splendid performance.
The reactions all over the world to the win have confirmed one thing – if India starts winning again in leading tournaments, it will help hockey’s revival in In-dia. Hockey is India’s national game with a very rich legacy. It was going through a lean phase, but from all indications it is on a comeback trail. The revival of hockey, or any sport, can happen only if more people play the game at the grass roots level build the infrastructure to make that possible. Let us have more grounds for our children. Let schools inculcate a sporting culture in students. We will then have better players and better teams.