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No one to bat for torchbearers of National Game
Published on Wed, Sep 26, 2007 at 23:02 in 
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New Delhi: When they touch rank bottom, nobody remembers them. And when they attain the heights nobody thought they could, still nobody remembers them.
That is Indian hockey for you. Win or lose—they always get the rough end of the stick. Whether they win a final 7-2 or lose it 2-7, does not seem to make any difference—for good, or for bad.
Remember the en block sacking of players after winning the 1998 Asiad? Imagine somebody doing that to the cream of Indian batting even after losing a top tournament. Nobody is there to bat for the torchbearers of a sport—still called the Indian national game.
The proposed hunger strike of some players and their coach, the proud winners of the Asia Cup, at the step-motherly treatment compared to cricketers is Gandhigiri in action. It is a shame that they have to demand their dues in such a fashion.
The victorious captain of 1983 squad, Kapil Dev is still feted and called to various studios raking in millions. People even remember the name of Sunil Walson who did not get to play a single match in the 1983 World Cup and still made a fortune thanks to his presence on the sidelines. It will be interesting to know how many of the 1975 Hockey World Cup winning squad feature regularly on talk shows. If they are invited, they are expected to talk without remuneration, or with token compensation, most of the times.
Nine out of 10 Indians past 40 can name each and every member of the 1983 World Cup winning squad. In contrast, how many remember the names of the players who were the part the 1975 hockey World Cup squad? The memory chips of our brains associated with hockey have got infected beyond repair.
The lives of the families of Olympians, who excelled between 1928 to 1956 winning six successive Olympic gold medals should make an interesting reading. One can bet that most of them will be regretting that their fathers and grandfathers sacrificed lives for a sport, which gave little or no return.
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No one to bat for torchbearers of National Game !
Very thought-provoking and conscience-stirring write-up.
Our media needs to sensitize and
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I think it is better that this sport is forgotten and cricket made the national game.Hockey is not capable of
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Thanks for taking up this issue. I completely agree with the writer that we are actually ignoring our national game.
To
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Please do not blame others, media itself creates such a hype,Mr. Sardesai doing so many shows on world cup victory,
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IBN, you too can not escape. Overdose of Cricket in media actually forced people to believe that Cricket is the
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