Balbir Singh Sr. was manager of the Indian team that won the 1975 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur after which Aslam Sher Khan, who scored the equaliser against Malaysia in the 1975 World Cup in and Ashok Kumar, who scored the solitary goal in India’s victory over Pakistan in the final, became heroes.

Even as India’s standing in world hockey hit a downward spiral in the modern times, the magical, if sometimes mercurial, Dhanraj Pillay emerged a huge star. It did not seem to matter to the fans that Dhanraj Pillay did not matching silverware in his trophy cabinet, except the 1998 Asian Games gold. The fact that he instilled fear in the opposition ranks was enough for the fans.

Full back Dilip Tirkey took over as the biggest Indian player but now, when India’s fan base does not seem to have eroded despite it still being on a treadmill as far as its presence in world hockey is concerned, it does not have a single player with claims of being an icon, a hero. Not one player seems to have the charisma to stand out in a crowd.

Of course, you can argue that it is good in some ways as no player must be larger than the singular unit that his team can be. But the fact is that nearly all sport in India is personality driven and every sport needs its heroes to make an impact in the collective mindset of the sports loving people of this wonderful nation.

So, how can an Indian hockey player – or players, if you please – be built up as a sporting icon?

I am convinced Team India needs to play more often – and win even more often than it does now – at home so that its players can be seen on TV if they are to ever become icons. It was heartening to see news TV channels speak with the Indian players after each game. If such interactions get more frequent, it can only be good for the evolution of their image.

Of course, one of the basic criteria for a player to be built as a star is for him to perform incredibly well – and over a sustained period of time. And on the basis of what we saw in the FIH World Cup where India played six matches, there are not too many who have it in them to wear the mantle of the super star and draw crowds.

I wish Shivendra Singh had not sat out of two crucial matches after starring in India’s 4-1 victory over Pakistan. He must be the one player closest to being a big draw, with his speedy runs and his poaching skills in the rival circle. Full back Sandeep Singh was the other player but he disappointed with both his defending skills and his inability to convert penalty corners.

I guess we will have to wait for a while before we have a super star emerging from the ranks of the Indian team and until that happens, India hockey will have to settle for being in the penumbra of the sporting firmament behind Indian cricket, English Premier League and other European leagues, Formula One, world golf and the professional tennis tours.

Oh! For another Dhyan Chand or Balbir Singh Sr or Aslam Sher Khan or Ashok Kumar or Dhanraj Pillay. Oh! For another Pargat Singh or Dilip Tirkey.

This piece was written for www.stick2hockey.com

Had India drawn, if not won its match against England in the Hero Honda FIH World Cup at the Maj. Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Saturday night, it would have kept its slim hopes of making it to the last four alive. But a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the European champion left it with only mathematical chances of getting there.

I believe where England scored over India was its players’ greater control over fundamentals of passing and trapping besides working as a unit. Simple stated, it meant that more often than not, when an England player passed the ball, he would find a team-mate running to be at the right place to receive the ball.

Inda made a deliberate attempt to slow down the pace of the game – and therefore control the flow in the first half. There was a method to breaking into the striking circle with long passes but there was not much talent on show inside the scoring area. Each time a striker could not get a clear view of the goal, he would end up losing the ball to the England defence.

And when that discipline was forgotten and almost rustic scrimmages became the order of the day early in the second half, England was able to wrest control with an assured defence that sparked swift counterattacks that led to a couple of goals by Ashley Jackson – one off a penalty corner and the other to end a melee.

Yet, in the fightback that India launched after being 0-3 down, we could see glimpses of the future. Sardara Singh, Bharat Chikara, Dhananjay Mahadik, Gurbaj Singh, Shivendra Singh, Gurwinder Singh Chandi and Sandeep Singh showed that they could be shaped into a good unit in the coming years. There are young men who are ready to play their hearts out.

Sardara Singh and Gurbaj Singh played their roles adequately enough and can be the mainstays for some time to come while Dhananjay Mahadik and Bharat Chikara guarded the left flank with zeal. And though Sandeep Singh’s skills in defence can always be improved, his presence becomes important because he is India’s best drag-flicker.

There are many who do not think that Gurwinder Singh Chandi is ready to don the striker’s mantle yet but the lad showed that he has a good ball sense and the knack of figuring in the frame at crucial moments. He just needs to increase the frequency of such appearances and make his presence felt as a scorer in the manner in which he tapped in India’s first goal on Saturday.

Each of these lads just needs to focus on sharpening his own game – and enhance his ability to work with the others in the squad – rather than worry about anything else. If they need to secure player contracts, they can always have some former players handle that rather than get their feet themselves as Deepak Thakur and Prabhjot Singh did a few weeks before the World Cup.

If all those who care for hockey – and believe me you, this is not a small number – can lend their shoulders to the wheel, it will move in the right direction. We have seen a groundswell of support for Indian hockey, despite the team’s successive losses to Australia, Spain and England after that heady start against Pakistan. We have some talented players, too.

Believe me, it won’t be long before we figure in the top four bracket again.

This piece was written for www.stick2hockey.com

Indeed, it was a poignant sight that will be etched in my mind for a long time. India had lost its second successive match by a 2-5 margin and yet many hundreds of its disappointed fans lingered on to cheer the team. The warm gesture after India was outplayed by Spain on Thursday night showed that the sport will find support in the country.

The stadium was packed well before India’s key contest with Spain was due to start and it was quite an experience again, hearing the crowd sing the National Anthem as one and with pride. But its throaty support to the home side was not good enough to lift the side to be competitive until it was too late.

Clearly, there were not just 15 Spaniards working overtime to stop India’s dream of finding a winning sequence. The home team took the ground with enormous baggage – for 35 years and eight editions, their predecessors had tried and fallen short of the semifinal at the FIH World Cup – and this side was expected to alter the course of Indian hockey’s destiny in one tournament.

This was the match that could pitchfork India among the contestants for the semifinal berth; this was the game that would set it up for a battle with the vastly improved England; It was not going to be easy, especially since Spain has always been a tough opposition and since it has been a while since India has played opposition such as Australia and Spain in the span of 48 hours.

The pressure was simply too enormous. Shivendra Singh’s enforced absence due to a two-match ban left the team without sting. Besides, hard as the young Gurwinder Singh Chandi tried to show that he belonged in this league, India’s lack of strike power upfront came through clearly. It was not long before the domino effect was felt at the other end.

India’s most consistent Indian players – Dhanjay Mahadik and Bharat Chikara – made uncharacteristic mistakes in defence and left the team staring down the barrel of the gun at the end of the first half.  The two goals that the side conceded were both defensive lapses that let Albert Sala and Pol Amat score unhindered.

It was always going to be difficult for India to play catch up, even after Sandeep Singh scored four minutes into the second half. Spain answered the challenge with two goals in as many minutes and it was all over bar the shouting. Sandeep Singh scored a second time to spark some hope but Spain was in control and pumped in a fifth goal towards the end to seal victory.

For a squad that boasted of three drag-flickers, India’s penalty corner conversion rate – scoring just once from the six chances – left it bruised. Sandeep Singh found the target once and caused the crowd to find its collective voice one more time but he will be the first to admit that the Spanish goalkeeper Francisco Cortes was more than equal to the task of denying him.

It is not as if there were no positives; there were some. The Indian side mounted a steady fightback in the second half and kept pressing for goals – even if it came up against resolute defence. The team was able to keep fighting till the end, something that we have not known many Indian hockey sides to do.

Yet, in the end there was disappointment for the vast majority of the 15,000 hopeful fans who packed the wonderful stadium and many trooped toward the exit gate when Spain scored its fifth goal with three minutes left. Yet, the sight of a few hundreds staying back to cheer the Indian team was heartwarming. There is hope yet for Indian hockey.

This piece was written for www.stick2hockey.com

Indian ace Deepak Thakur believes the team is mentally strong to take on Pakistan in the opening game of the FIH World Cup

Live everyone else, I am excited by the approaching India-Pakistan contest in the Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 at the Maj. Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi. It has been a little over six years since I sat in the packed stands and cheered a 3-1 India victory in the Afro-Asian Games final in my home town, Hyderabad. The goalless draw that I saw the teams play out at the Morris Brown College ground in Atlanta at the 1996 Olympic Games has faded into the recesses.

For someone who has found the sporting rivalry between the two neighbours endearing, I cannot help think of how India will have to be mentally strong to face the twin pressures that bear down on the team in the World Cup competition. It is known to be among the slow starters in the big competitions and, to make it doubly challenging, the opening game is with Pakistan.

May be it is just a myth that India starts slowly but let us look at the last two major events for the Indian team. India got off to a 2-2 draw with New Zealand in the Champions Challenge in Argentina in December. Earlier, in the Asia Cup in May 2009, despite goals from Prabhjot Singh and Rajpal Singh, the team lost 2-3 to – hold your breath – Pakistan.

It does look like the home team has approached its two warm up games against Argentina and the Netherlands as part of a big tournament rather than as practice matches. I was happy with the intensity that we saw in the squad when it took on and beat the Dutch 2-1 in a practice game a couple of evenings earlier.

I have always believed that it is mental strength that makes the difference between champions and also-rans and it was but natural that when I got to talk one of the Indian team’s stars, Deepak Thakur, our conversation focused mainly on the team’s mental preparations for the big game that lies ahead.

Apparently, the team has kept things simple. It has had some sessions with a psychologist. But more importantly the events away from the hockey pitch have brought the players together like little else could have. “Above all, we have a solid coach (Jose Brasa) who is very good at keeping us motivated,” Deepak Thakur said.

“We have put behind us the defeats by Pakistan in the Asia Cup in Malaysia and the Champions Challenge in Argentina,” he said. “We realise that there is no point in letting thoughts of such reverses linger in our minds. We know our strengths and are focussed on bringing them to the fore when we get on the pitch for the opening game.”

Indeed, as far as the opening game is concerned, mind games have already begun. There has been of talk about how drag-flickers Sohail Abbas and Sandeep Singh will be key performers. And how Indian goalkeeper Adrian d’Souza exudes confidence that he can measure up to the challenge posed by the world’s most prolific goal scorer Sohail Abbas’ exceptional skills.

Typical of players of an era gone by, the greybeards talk of how the intensity in contemporary India-Pakistan matches is less than in the past. It is an unfair comment given that millions of people watch the game on television and sit in judgment now more than ever. I believe that any India-Pakistan sporting contest brings along immense stress.

And yes, even if I am not looking beyond India’s inaugural match with Pakistan, I am excited at being able to watch my first World Cup hockey competition.

This article was written for www.stick2hockey.com and appeared on that wonderful website.