What's next for Indian hockey?

It's a well known fact that there's a huge and proud history associated with Indian hockey ufffd right from its Olympic prowess, winning eight gold medals (1928, Amsterdam, 1932 Los Angeles, 1936 Berlin, 1948 London, 1952 Helsinki, 1956 Melbourne, 1964 Tokyo, 1980 Moscow) to the World Cup title (1975 Kuala Lumpur). And this history-making continues even today, albeit for all the wrong reasons. It all began with the 2006 Doha Asian Games, where coach Vasudevan Bhaskaran failed to guide the team to the podium to clinch the Olympic quota spot. Consequently, India was forced to play and win a qualifier tournament in Santiago, Chile.

Unfortunately but deservingly nevertheless, India lost 0-2 to Great Britain in the final and subsequently missed out on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The Indian team underestimated the British side and were beaten twice in the tournament leading to Indian hockey making history by failing to qualify for the Olympics for the first time in 80 years (since 1928).

A couple of years later, India finished outside the podium at the Asiad once again ufffd this time at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and as a result of which they now have to play and win another Olympic Qualifier if they wish to display their 'hockey wizardry' at the London Games in 2012. That looks a near-impossible task given there's no proper coach for the team as there's ambiguity over who among Hockey India (HI) and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) has the right to pick a new coach. The sheer state of the way the national game is being run or rather wanting to be run in the country is shameful. The tug-of-war between HI and IHF for power to run the game is only stretching every sinew of the already tension-filled strings that are somehow holding the game together. Even an ounce of more stress and the strings will snap throwing the national game into complete disarray.

Thankfully the sports ministry has stepped in to pull some strings, and ears, ordering a merger between HI and IHF, and warning of strict action against any party that fails to comply with its proposal for good governance of the game. Let's hope that happens soon and the poorer version of the Men in Blue can be on the flight to the English capital next year for the Games. Else, Indian hockey will only add yet another inglorious chapter to the history books by failing to make the Olympics twice on the trot for the first time in 84 years!