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The never-ending cynical talk about Indian hockey can at times be a ‘frustrating’ pill to swallow. Years of politicking, non-performance and lack of recognition have reduced the sport to almost to a moribund state, with even the media providing sparse coverage of it. But the outset of 2014 seems to have turned over a new leaf for the national hockey team.
Terry Walsh instrumental to India’s sucess
A new coach in Terry Walsh was installed and almost immediately, he seemed to have delivered as India stunned Olympic champions Germany 5-4 in the Hockey World League Final Round in New Delhi. The Aussie injected a fighting spirit in the team that showed in the 2014 World Cup in the Hague, where India performed far better than their ninth-place finish suggests. Last-minute goals cost them dearly against England and Belgium even as the team pipped higher ranked Korea by a convincing 3-0 win to settle for the ninth spot.
The team was growing in confidence with every passing tournament and at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, India put it across higher ranked New Zealand 3-2 in the semifinals after trailing 0-2 at one stage. India for the first time in many years gave Australia a solid fight before losing to them 2-4 in the league phase. A silver medal in the CWG was surely a decent achievement.
India won its Asiad gold after sixteen years and in the process sealed its berth for the 2016 Rio Olympics. A new high was attained when India beat world champions Australia thrice on the trot after losing the first Test 0-4, to underpin one thing: this team means business and wants to conquer the world hockey.
Terry Walsh saga came at the wrong time
Just when it seemed like India were having a dream run, Terry Walsh refused to extend his one-year contract reportedly unhappy with the country’s prevailing bureaucratic hurdles among others. The fact that Terry Walsh was a prized possession can be accentuated by the fact that even the Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal stepped in to sort out the stalemate.
Things were heading in the right direction until Hockey India President threw a spanner in the process by stating that he does not want the services of Walsh as he hurled an allegation that the Aussie was embroiled in some financial irregularities while serving as coach of USA hockey team. That was the last thing Indian hockey needed and for the second time Hockey India High Performance Manager Roelant Oltmans was handed the charge of the team for the Champions Trophy.
India playing with confidence despite Walsh’s absence
The team may not have shown signs that they are affected by the sudden exit of Walsh and even stunned Netherlands 3-2 – the first win over them in eighteen years. But the point is: when everything looked hunky-dory for Indian hockey, why controversies would want to barge in? Irrespective of how the team fares in the Champions Trophy, one thing is clear: this team is teeming with loads of self-belief and just because the team with stop-gap coach Oltmans is showing promise, one cannot ignore the fact that controversies could have been avoided be it the coach or for that matter any other aspect of the sport.
One hopes the on-field performances of the Indian team set the tongues wagging and not controversies!
