It may be noted that private leagues have mushroomed in recent times, promising India’s place in the FIFA World Cup or the opportunity to host a tennis event on the scale of a Grand Slam. But, will such attempts improve the standard of sport in India is the main point that is lingering in the minds of people.

Even when India won the Olympics in Hockey, cricket was given more importance, despite its poor performance in 1950s and 1960s. The hockey lovers would proudly proclaim that India still holds the world record in Olympics with eight victories, despite its decline that started in late 1960s when the team led by Prathipal Singh and Gurbux Singh lost to Australia in the 1968 Olympics at Mexico.

The Asian Games at Incheon enabled the sports-minded people to observe Indian sport in right earnest. Though India emerged with eleven gold medals, two of them in Kabaddi, behind China’s staggering 151, South Korea’s 79 and Japan’s 47, the performance of the contingent was lackluster, compared to its performance in the last Asian Games. For instance, Kazakhstan, with a population smaller than our ‘gods own country’ Kerala claimed 28 medals.

A few sports commentators, who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity said that new sporting culture attempts to grab the attention and loyalty of the country’s youth through private leagues. The sponsors are all visible, of course. They have to be, having invested in the teams and players in the franchise-based ownership. It is a pity to note, rue the commentators, that the franchisees association with sport is purely commercial.

India’s scintillating victory in the 1971 cricket test series against England at Oval had created a virtual hysteria over the game and the players were treated as unsung heroes. This was significant indeed, as India defeated the Great Britain for the first time around in their own soil. Though the team led by Ajit Wadekar was badly battered and bruised in their return trip in 1974 led by Mike Dennis, cricket was still looked upon as a superior game ahead of other sports in our country.

When India won the World Cup in 1983 at Lords, propelling cricket to greater heights in our nation under the stewardship of Kapil Dev, adrenalin did flow in and the cricketers were looked at as Warriors at the cost of other disciplines. R. Sriman, the late Sports Editor of Times of India, aptly pointed out: “Despite playing at their best, the hockey teams are losing, whereas our cricket teams are winning even after dishing out mediocre display”.

Morale is the element that pushes any combination to conquer new frontiers of excellence. For Indian hockey team, the gold medal victory at Incheon Asian Games was undoubtedly a morale booster. The recent series victory against the World champions Australia in their citadel has exemplified the electrifying performance of the squad led by Sardar Singh. It is important that India does not get carried away with their victory in Australia, as reading too much into the outcome in Perth will not stand the players in good stead. At best, the previous victories should be viewed as a rehearsal for the team preparing for the Champions Trophy to be staged in Bhubaneswar next month.

 It is pertinent to point out that India, after winning the World Cup hockey at Kuala Lumpur in 1975 under the leadership of Ajitpal Singh, had failed to qualify for the knock-out stage for the first time in the Olympics at Montreal in the following year. The squad also had the mortification of conceding six goals, which was unthinkable of earlier, against Australia in the league stage. Incidentally, in the Champions Trophy, out of the 34 editions held so far, India has won only a bronze medal and that too way back in 1982.

The significance of the Champions Trophy involving India and Australia will be best understood if the statistics involving them are observed minutely. For instance, out of the 106 meetings, India has had a meager 11 victories as against 71 defeats. Moreover, the Australians also surge ahead with their tally of 328 goals against 174 scored by the Indians. Inevitably, the contretemps involving the chief coach Terry Walsh and the Sports Authority of India over exoneration of Hockey India comes to the fore. The hockey lovers are having a lurking suspicion that Walsh may not wish to continue till the Rio Olympics, for which India has already qualified.

Is it now time for the Hockey Federation to realize that Walsh has played a pivotal role in restoring the image and identity of hockey in our country, which was in shambles after the debacle at the London Olympics in 2012, when India stood at bottom?

When ESPN owner and business tycoon Subash Chandra floated Indian Cricket League (ICL), obviously aggrieved over the failure of the BCCI to award a contract to him in a particular tournament, it was amply evident that he was setting off a sporting revolution of sorts when the league’s first ball was bowled, albeit with the able assistance of Kapil Dev, who, by then, had set an eye on the commercial market. The emergence of ICL enabled even some mediocre players to sign worthwhile contracts, keeping the long-term benefits in mind.

K.V. Venugopal

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