HIL Hindi commentary on STAR Sports hugely disappointing for hockey fans

The inaugural Hero Hockey India League promised so much before the caravan started rolling, and one must say that it has truly lived up to its billing – pretty good crowds, save for Jalandhar games, coupled with nerve-jangling matches have ensured that the success recipe was in place.

The sight of world-class players like Teun De Nooijer, Moritz Fuertse, Jamie Dwyer, Ashley Jackson and Oscar Deecke slugging it out triggered excitement and extra josh among hockey buffs in the country.

The live telecast of league matches on STAR Sports and STAR Cricket was just what the doctor ordered. It was like everything was falling in place for Hockey India – the organizers of the much-hyped league.

Surely, there would also be cynics around, who would rack their brains to pick holes in the conduct of the league. But at large, Hockey India deserves a big pat on the back for the way the league has shaped up so far – obviously there is always room for improvement and the league can only get even better in its second edition next year.

But there’s one thing that has left a frustrating taste in the hockey fans’ mouths – the television commentary on STAR Sports, especially the Hindi commentary. ESPN-STAR Sports has lined up a galaxy of former India players to sit in the commentator’s box, but sadly the whole exercise has been hugely disappointing.

For any hockey lover, watching a pulsating match with tedious commentary can be a huge dampener. I am a great fan of formers greats like Mir Ranjan Negi, Jugraj Singh, Deepak Thakur, Mohammed Shahid and Pargat Singh but some their commentary has left me massively disappointed. Most of them haven’t been able to provide what the viewers look for – witty, shrewd observations of the game laced with a bit of humour and correct facts at all times.

As for the English commentary panel, AB Subbaiah appears to be a misfit – he was once seen struggling to read out the post-match presentation note much to the embarrassment of the organizers. No wonder STAR Sports acted swiftly and roped in their seasoned anchors from outside India and are now doing the post-match anchor job.

On the brighter side, the likes of Viren Rasquinha, Cedric D’Souza and Sandeep Somesh have been impressive.

One recalls a particular instance when the commentator, whose name I failed to recognize, spoke glowingly about SK Uthappa as being a brilliant hockey player for India – so brilliant is Uthappa that he was dropped from the Asian Champions Trophy after a poor show in the 34th FIH Champions Trophy.

Even during the January 28 Ranchi Rhinos-Mumbai Magicians match, the commentator was struggling to identify a player – referring to Chinglensana Singh as Kothajit Singh, probably because both are from Manipur.

Dreary commentary backed by wrong names of players or wrong facts can spoil the joy of watching a hockey match.

Thankfully, STAR Sports got their seasoned anchors for the post-match presentation ceremony and deserves praise for that.

Perhaps a pep talk to the commentators may do the trick. I don’t want to hear the oft-repeated ‘woh acha player hai’ line when a commentator describes a particular player – the favourite line of Jugraj Singh. Quite obviously. hindi commentators seem to run out of vocabulary while describing a player during a match.

We, as hockey fans, deserve more!