Jalandhar, India's hockey epicenter, lacks good infrastructure, says former international player   

Punjab has emerged as the epicenter of hockey in India. As many as 11 players from Punjab were members of the men’s bronze-medal winning hockey team at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

However, to better the performance before Paris 2024, officials in Punjab will need to put in 25 percent extra effort to churn out a good number of players, said Sukhvir Grewal, a former international hockey player and former director of the Punjab Institute of Sports (PIS).

Speaking to Sportskeeda, Sukhvir said:

“Having a good bunch of hockey players from Punjab in the national team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will not be an easy task. Extra efforts will be required to produce good players.”

Sukhvir said it’s a challenging situation in Punjab because there hasn’t been enough investment in sports in terms of grassroots development.

“Without a solid foundation, it will not be possible to have good players at the top of the pyramid. And to build a strong base for the future, all the stake holders in the state should have started working on it to have a good representation in men’s hockey at the 2024 Olympics.”

According to Sukhvir, as many as 11 players selected for the men’s team in Tokyo were part of the state's development plan initiated in 2005. Meanwhile, Hardik Singh was in the 2009 batch.

“While the seeds were sowed in 2005, the harvest was in 2021. If you look back, it takes more than a decade to groom a potential player. No player will reach the pinnacle of his career overnight. The average age of the player to perform at the optimum level is between 22 to 24 years. So, if there is no junior development plan in place, we can’t think of having good players in the senior group in the future," Sukhvir said.

Sukhvir thinks extra effort is required to translate the success at the junior level to the senior level.

“Indian won the 2016 Hockey Junior World Cup. But the national team couldn’t repeat their performance at the senior level during the 2018 Hockey World Cup. This indicates extra hard work is needed to sustain efforts at the senior level.”

Sukhvir said junior players should form the backbone of the development group before moving up to the senior level. It will take 3-4 years to adjust to the higher group, he added.

“A nursery student can’t take up high school classes. It is a gradual process. This is the case with sports as well. There is no magic. It is a long drawn process to reach the top level.”

If Sukhvir is to be believed, a long term development plan is missing in Punjab’s sports curriculum.

“The hockey pitch at the academy in Jalandhar is worn out. Despite churning out six players, including skipper Manpreet Singh, for the Tokyo Olympic bronze medal winning team, the hockey turf is yet to be replaced,” he added.

Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Mohali are the three main hockey training centers in the state. There are 70 players each in Jalandhar and Mohali, while the Ludhiana center has 40 players, Sukhvir said.

Players from various age groups, including those under 12, are enrolled in academies run by the state government.

“The pandemic has seriously impacted the training program. Due to Covid-19, there hasn’t been proper training as the training centers were closed,” explains Sukhvir.

According to a state hockey coach working with the Punjab government, several players haven't been able to learn the fundamentals of hockey in the development stage due to the lockdown, and yet have advanced to the next age group.

“The budding players have missed the lessons due to the pandemic. If the fundamentals aren’t good, it is not possible to excel in modern hockey at the senior level,” added the hockey coach.