The future promises more money and glamour for Indian hockey. It is the present though which presents a sorry picture. One look at the conditioning camp of the national team, here preparing for the Champions Trophy, would tell why they are considered poor cousins to those playing cricket.Yet, they don’t seem to complain. Perhaps, they should.Consider this: Housed at the Sector 42 Stadium, six players including coaches Gerhard Rach, Oliver Kurtz and Jagbir Singh share one room sans television, have no ball boys to help while practising, can’t expect immediate medical attention as there is no doctor on standby, have no professional physical trainer, physiotherapist or software analyst.Despite the hardships, the team hits the astroturf in different sessions from dawn to dusk hoping to make a mark at the elite six-nation Champions Trophy beginning early December in Pakistan.‘‘We don’t need five-star hotels. We are six in a room and the accommodation is okay,’’ is how coach Gerhard Rach put it with a smile. But he soon turned philosophical adding, ‘‘If you look for something in the darkness you will find it. What if you don’t search in the darkness!’’Rach again tried to put things in perspective terming the absence of television as the best thing. ‘‘In a way we are all happy and working as a unit to achieve good levels of performance. Indian team has replaced five big names and it is different. Now, the team is formed. No more stars and individual play. It’s a unit and well formed.’’Rach is optimistic of the challenges ahead. ‘‘The boys are happy. They are working to the best of their calibre and the road ahead is long but certain. It was unstable for a while because of all the developments. At the Champions Trophy suprise will be due. Still, we need to develop a lot.’’Rach, controversial and commanding at times since he took over the reins in May this year, is sad only on one count: the absence of a professional software analyst. He had hired the services of a videographer prior to the Athens Games but that was a stop gap arrangement. The IHF has provided a videographer here as well but of the amateur kind.‘‘Hockey the world over is hi-tech. You need to study each and every move in detail and you need video graphics of each player. It would be better if a software analyst travels with us for the Champions Trophy. Most teams do.’’Rach’s predicament can be understood. Forget the computer, he says there is not even a digital camera to quickly catch the players’ moves. When contacted, IHF secretary Jothikumaran sounded diplomatic. ‘‘We have given a lap top and we will soon be providing all that the coach needs.’’India play two Tests against Spain as a warm-up to the Champions Trophy at Chandigarh on November 28 and 30.PHL is a real blessing : JagbirAssistant coach tJagbir Singh termed the the Premier Hockey League (PHL) starting January as a ‘‘blessing by the IHF to hockey’’. He said: ‘‘Nowhere in the world is there a league with such a big prize-money (Rs 71 lakh). Besides live coverage of the tourney will bring in glamour. The coming forward of Sachin Tendulkar for promos of PHL also shows that everyone loves the game and wants to pitch in.’’ German coach Gerhard Rach, too, welcomed the move but wished it was a long one. ‘‘It’s good that India has a league but I guess it is too short with not enough teams.’’
