Indian hockey is in the news these days and not for any good reason either. The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and its president KPS Gill are to blame for the wrongdoings. Appointment of unfit persons to the upper echelons of the Federation, chopping and changing of coaches - some with good reason, others on flimsy grounds - dropping of senior players who have rendered yeoman service to the game and country on grounds of indiscipline seem to be the order of the day.PLAYERS: One is definitely perturbed and shocked by the cavalier treatment meted out to the top six players (Dhanraj Pillay, Mukesh Kumar, Ashish Ballal, Sandeep Somesh, AB Subbiah, Sabu Varkey) of the Asian Games gold medal-winning team. The IHF should have cashed in on the win by marketing the game. They should have taken the team to various centres in the country and felicitated them, as was done in 1975 after India won the World Cup. Instead, the IHF let this opportunity slip through and, in its infinite wisdom, wreaked vengeance onthe top six players and the coach who were largely responsible for our win at Bangkok. This was done on the pretext of resting them - the reason now being given is indiscipline - and sometimes fitness. Why didn't the IHF president come clean at the time ?In a recent interview, KPS Gill said, and I quote, ``As far as these six players are concerned, I have always wanted to drop them.'' If this is not arrogance and high-handedness, what is ?Six-time World Billiards champion Geet Sethi was right in asking: What if the top six cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly, were dropped from the Indian team ?Gill's refrain is that the Asian Games win was unimpressive, as it came against weak teams. Perhaps he is unaware that we beat South Korea, runner-up in the recent Champions Trophy, and Pakistan.Our performances in South Africa recently are testimony that the Indian team is powerless without these stars. We lost the series 0-3 to a team that ranks nowhere in internationalhockey.Gill says, ``I select a player by his performances not by his reputation.'' Fair. There is no doubt that Ballal, Pillay, Mukesh Kumar and Varkey are the best players in the country in their respective positions. Dhanraj and Sabu were respectively named the players of the final and tournament at the MCC Murugappa Gold Cup this July, where the cream of Indian hockey was on display. If the IHF plans to cheat these players by keeping them out, they should at least cheat properly. Why name the two the best players in the first place !One wonders: Is performance the sole criteria or the president's personal whims and fancies ? Gill says that as far as the Super Six are concerned, we should reduce it to the Super Two (Dhanraj and Mukesh). But would one be surprised if the Super Two are also eliminated and we are left with only one super cop in whose hands lies the future of Indian hockey.COACHES: The appointment of coaches has been like a game of musical chairs. The present coach V Bhaskaran has beenreappointed for the third time, after being dropped for the team's dismal performance at the Utrecht World Cup. MK Kaushik was dumped unceremoniously after the Asian Games triumph, and it is no secret that it was done because Kaushik, a fitness freak, sided with the players. Gill bemoans the lack of commitment on the part of our coaches. He says the IHF assesses the coaches and whoever he thinks fit to carry on will coach the side. One may ask, how was the performance of Kaushik assessed after being the coach of a winning team ?SELECTION: The dubious manner in which teams are selected underlines the dictatorial attitude of the president and the unilateral decisions he takes. The modus operandi is simple. The selectors are called for the nationals when the first lot of players are selected. Subsequent pruning down and final selections are done by the four wise men of Indian hockey Gill, K Jyoti Kumaran, the secretary, Siddiqui, the assistant secretary and Tyagi, the treasurer.It is common knowledge thatthe officially named selection committee had included Mukesh Kumar, Pillay, Varkey and Ballal in the probables for the Olympics. In the final list, these names did not appear.And then, the IHF names an ex-international athlete Balkar Singh as hockey selector! I feel the selection committee, which includes noteworthy names like Joaquim Carvalho and Haripal Kaushik, should resign en masse.So where does Indian hockey go from here? The need of the hour is a strong players association to fight for their rights and benefits. Possibly former Olympians and internationals should get together and forge some resistance. Perhaps they can make a representation to the government. The government should refuse to clear the expenses of teams that they feel are not truly representative of the country.No person, however mighty, should be allowed to play with the honour and reputation of the country and the honour of the players. Gill should realise that a federation, an association, a club all starts with players. Andone should accord them that deserved dignity and respect.Avitus D'Cruz is an international and coach of St Joseph's (Malad)
