What
could be more worse for Indian hockey than failing to qualify
for the Olympic in its 80-year history? On Monday, the team
of Great Britain trounced eight-times gold medallist India
2-0 in the qualifying round, thereby ending all its hopes
for taking part in the Beijing Olympics to be held during
this year in August. The setback prompted Federation vice
president Narendra Batra and coach Joaquim Carvalho to step
down along with his support staff. Hockey is the national
game of India but due to increasing popularity of cricket,
it has continued to suffer. The defeat has also called for
removal of Indian Hockey Federation president, KPS Gill. The
hockey fraternity has received the news with shock. Refusing
to quit his post, Gill said that hockey is not like instant
coffee machine which gives results immediately. It would take
time to return to old form. KPS Gill has been on the post
for a pretty long time. The rival team members played smarter,
if not better, hockey. Their players showed a lot of steel
in dealing with the massive pressure they were subjected to
by the Indian forwards. Apart from hockey there are also other
games in which India fares poorly. Hence the need is for framing
the sports policy in an effective manner so that it brings
forth positive results. Sports should be free of political
interference and administrative bottlenecks. Former experts
in the game should come out with constructive suggestions
to revive the national game. For grooming new talents, it
is also essential that schools and colleges encourage this
game. Dhanraj Pillai has rightly commented for overhaul of
the IHF.
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