Indian hockey - Guts, glory and gore

Terry Walsh

The Batra effect

The Narinder Batra and Terry Walsh saga is another body blow to Indian hockey. Initially, Batra showed a lot of promise and postured with great intent to paint himself as the messiah of Indian hockey in sparkling white. Millions in India and indeed around the world took notice of this rotund, bold and decisive character. India had its moments of glory and the media went berserk writing more words on the meteoric “rise” of Indian hockey in the past 12 months than it has in the past several decades.

Reams upon reams went to print singing praises about Batra’s acumen as an administrator and negotiator; the best thing since sliced bread. Things looked too good to be true. And they were. The leopard cannot change its spots and Batra showed his true hues. Dark and intimidating, not the pristine white he started off as. Going after the Chief Coach is a rabid, vicious and vengeful manner he laid bare his true colours. Dark and intimidating.

To add to the woes, a weak and insipid Sports Minister kowtowed to Batra and did not over rule the injustice, not standing up for the good of Indian hockey. Once again politics took center stage and Walsh was disgraced in the most “reprehensible” way and was evicted and discarded. All because he was the voice of dissent and rubbed the egotistical Batra the wrong way.

Chief reason for fallout

The Batra (the venerable one), swiftly stooped to his low level, playing his trump card which he had ferreted away just for the purpose of being in a position of total control. The Batra not only dismissed the best coach India has had since a long time, but besmirched his image to an extent that Walsh may never coach again. This vile, vindictive and vicious attack is indeed “reprehensible” (Terry’s own words).

The Batra is reportedly a successful businessman, but his business sense is seriously suspect. Why would one, who does well in business not follow the first principle of business success – “If it works, don’t break it”? The Batra took a team in ascendency and destroyed its core; he detached the heart of the team’s success by excising the chief coach.

All sportsmen know that the player and coach make a team. The Indian team has done extremely well when you consider that they have shown remarkable progress and resolve even though three coaches were thrown out in the past 30 months. In the face of such serious adversity, it is the Indian team that should be given ALL the credit for the modest progress. And the mal-Administrators should be called out for who they are: egotistical, self-serving and bumbling misfits. At the present time, The Batra is the chief architect of yet another administrative debacle. He proverbially shone to deceive.

Let fans voice be heard

The Gill’s, the Batra’s, the Jothikumaran’s and Thomas’s continue to (mis)administer the sport as their personal fiefdom. We the Indian hockey lovers continue to mutter and roll our eyes. And the slide continues. It’s time that the voice of Indian hockey is heard for the good of the sport. Write to editors, sports journalists, the Sports Minister and even the Prime Minister. Demand to attend HI meetings; the cloak of secrecy should come off. Flood the social media against the perpetual decay in Indian hockey administration. Express your views in no uncertain terms that the status quo is not acceptable. Raise your voice so that the subjugated and silent Indian hockey team has a surrogate voice of reason and good.

Or else continue to see a mediocre India play sub-par hockey. The beast is not the player but the administrator. The true traitor.

And if you think India has turned the corner and a good coach is dispensable like a discarded tissue; think again!