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Remembering Bangkok Asiad 1998
The last Asian Games of the 20th century were held in Bangkok 1998 and they provided a golden moment for Indian hockey. It was a tale of two tournaments in 1998. In May 1998, India floundered at the 9th World Cup in Utrecht, Netherlands finishing a dismal ninth. Only New Zealand, Malaysia and Poland finished below India. Yet in December 1998, India finished as all conquering heroes, winning the Bangkok Asian games hockey gold medal for the second time only after beating South Korea 5-3 on penalties in a memorable final.
This transition took place for two reasons, change of coaches (V. Bhaskaran was replaced by Maharaj Kishen Kaushik), pragmatic selection and above all the scintillating form of India’s skipper Dhanraj Pillay. Bangokok 1998 was Dhanraj Pillay’s finest hour. It was definitely the most memorable and successful tournament in his illustrious career, as he scored 11 goals from 6 matches in the 1998 Asian Games hockey competition, with eight goals in the first three matches of the group league phase.
India scored 24 goals in this competition and the mercurial skipper scored 11 of these nearly 50 percent of the total. This is the best scoring performance ever by an Indian player on artificial surface. Way back in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, when the game was played on grass, penalty corner expert Prithipal Singh had scored 10 of the 22 goals that India scored in this tournament. Prithipal also scored nearly 50 per cent of India’s goals. For sheer individual brilliance and the impact it had on India’s morale and victories the performances of Prithipal (1964 Tokyo Olympics) and Pillay (1998 Asian Games) will remain etched in memory.
The Dhanraj Pillay show
At the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games, Pillay played with thrust, flair and combined effortlessly with fellow forwards Mukesh Kumar, Sabu Varkey, Sameer Dad and Baljit Singh Dhillon. His explosive pace and deft finish was a joy to behold and he played a major role in all of India’s victories.
India started their campaign with a thumping 9-0 win over Singapore on 9 December. Dhanraj Pillay alone scored four goals against Singapore and he was also instrumental in most of the other goals. Next India routed Bangladesh 7-0 and Pillay scored twice within the first 17 minutes of the match and a third in the second half. His electrifying runs scattered the Bangladesh defence and helped team-mates Baljit Dhillon, Mohammed Riaz, Anil Aldrin and Dilip Tirkey also score goals.
On 13 December, India was tested by the tenacious and defensive Chinese. India won 2-1 with goals scored by Pillay and Mukesh due to their individual brilliance. A day later India overcame holders South Korea 2-1 to top the group and avoid arch rivals Pakistan in the semi finals.
Second gold at the Asian Games
In the semi finals, India comfortably beat Japan 3-1 with goals by Baljit Dhillon, Ramandeep Singh (penalty stroke) and Pillay. The final against South Korea was a battle of attrition. India started shakily and conceded an early goal. Pillay and the forwards then mounted numerous attacks and the skipper equalised in the 23rd minute, slamming in a rebound off the goalkeeper’s pads.
The match remained drawn 1-1 even after extra time. In the penalty strokes, coach Kaushik kept faith with Ballal. This was a gamble as reserve goalkeeper AB Subbiah with his more phlegmatic temperament, was considered better in saving penalty strokes. However the daring Ballal saved two penalty strokes. Mohammed Riaz, Baljit Dhillon, Ramandeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar scored from their strokes and India won on penalties 4-2 and overall 5-3.
So in the last Asian Games of the 20th century, India won the Asian Games hockey gold medal for the second time. It was after a lapse of 32 years that India won the Asian games hockey gold medal. So the year ended on a high note for Indian hockey.
Change was needed
This resurgence seemed unlikely in mid-1998 as at the 1998 Utrecht World Cup, India’s performance was lacklustre and critics clamoured for an overhaul of the national team. The media said that heads must roll. The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) with KPS Gill and K. Jyothikumaran as secretary responded to this desire for change.
The trio of coaches, V. Bhaskaran, R. Parameswaran and CR Kumar (all from Tamil Nadu and close to the IHF secretary) were axed. Many critics and some ex-Olympians felt a foreign coach was needed but KPS Gill gave the task of reviving the national hockey team’s morale and fortunes to the astute M.K.Kaushik. Known as a good tactician, Kaushik was given a free hand in the selection of players for the 13th Asian Games in Bangkok from 6th to 20th December.
A pragmatic coach Kaushik did not wield the axe indiscriminately but made a few tactical changes which revived the team. The goalkeepers of the 1998 World Cup, Jude Menezes and Jagdish Poonappa (both from Bombay) were discarded. They were replaced by the experienced Indian Airlines duo of Ashish Ballal and AB Subbiah.
Bhaskaran and his think tank had felt that Ballal and Subbiah were ageing and their reflexes were slowing down. But Kaushik gambled that Ballal and Subbiah’s greater experience and better match temperament would be valuable in the vital knock-out round matches of the Asian Games.
Kaushik had faith in Ballal
Another reason why Ballal was chosen is because Kaushik recalled an incident after the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games. In the final at Hiroshima, India (coached by Zafar Iqbal) had lost 2-3 to South Korea and Ballal had been blamed for sloppy goalkeeping. On the flight back the Indian men and women’s team had a stop-over in Hong Kong. A despondent Ballal was moping and did not join his team-mates for shopping. On that tour, Kaushik was coach of the Indian women’s hockey team.
Noticing that Ballal was getting morose, Kaushik persuaded him to think of the future. Ballal had said in Hong Kong that if given another chance he would play with great courage and daring and help India win. These words struck in Kaushik’s mind and he chose Ballal and Subbiah as goalkeepers. Kaushik’s instincts were proved right because Ballal saved two penalty strokes in the shoot-out against South Korea in the final.
Other players dropped from the World cup squad were young forwards Rajesh Chauhan (Air India), Harbhajan Singh (BSF) and Devinder Kumar (Chandigarh). They were replaced by the experienced Baljit Singh Dhillon of Punjab Police and L. Prabhakran of Tamil Nadu. Kaushik also strengthened midfield by recalling the veteran defensive midfielder Sandeep Somesh (Karnataka) known for his phlegmatic temperament, good interceptions and hard tackling. These changes also helped. Baljit Dhillon noted for his close control excelled in the 1998 Asian Games and Somesh thwarted many Korean attacks in the final.
1998: Ashish Ballal (Indian Airlines), AB Subbiah (Indian Airlines), Dilip Tirkey (Indian Airlines), Anil Aldrin (Bombay), Lazarus Barla (Indian Airlines), Baljit Singh Saini (Punjab & Sind Bank), Sandeep Somesh (Karnataka), Mohammed Riaz (Tamil Nadu), Ramandeep Singh (Punjab), Thirumaivalavan (Tamil Nadu), Mukesh Kumar (Indian Airlines), Sabu Varkey (Karnataka), Baljit Singh Dhillon (Punjab), Dhanraj Pillay (Bombay—Captain), Sameer Dad (IA) and L. Prabhakaran (Tamil Nadu).
Sadly the legacy of this 1998 Asian Games gold medal triumph did not last long. The national hockey team, led by Dhanraj Pillay were feted and lauded by politicians, Chief Ministers and the media when they returned to India.
Lost momentum
Yet two months later in February 1999 when the test series with Pakistan was about to begin, there was internal discord between the administrators and players. After the success in Bangkok, Pillay and some senior players requested the IHF for monetary incentives and even asked for graded payment for playing international matches for India. However the IHF President KPS Gill, former IG Police of Punjab tended to be autocratic in his dealings with players.
He got the support of the IHF secretary K. Jyothikumaran and other IHF officials. The request for money and graded payment was seen as player’s revolt. Pillay and several other members of the victorious 1998 squad were suspended for the test series vs Pakistan.
Thus the momentum that hockey had gained after the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games victory got lost. India lost the series against Pakistan and media interest faded as the star players were not in action.
