‘Sachin is a living legend but he can’t be an Olympian’

Are you saying that because the system has changed, our game has improved?
Yes, there is a lot of improvement. Since 1994 there have been a lot of changes in the team.

How has this happened?
Ever since K P S Gill has become the president of the IHF there have been a lot of changes. Now we have teams for several age groups — the Under 16, Under-18, Under-20 — these teams have been formed in the last few years.

You mean to say, junior and senior teams didn’t exist earlier? And now with these categories, what difference has it made?
Our present senior team consists of players who played at the junior and the sub-junior levels for two-to-three years and in the current team, there are 14 players from the side that won the Junior World Cup in 2001.

So the team practicing here at the National Stadium consists of at least 14 players from junior and sub-junior levels?
Yes, 14 players of the national team were part of the team that won the Junior World Cup and only five-six players are seniors.

So after many years, have we won any kind of World Cup?
No, it’s for the first time that we won the Junior World Cup.

But since 1975 we haven’t won any world title.
Yes, we haven’t won any world title other than the Asian Games in 1998.

But it seems the team’s performance has improved over the past two-three years. You won the Asian Games in 1998 and did well at the Champions Trophy last year. Is it because of inducting players from the junior team, merging the senior and junior teams, change in technique or better coaching?
Yes, the technique has changed and we are playing the kind of hockey India is known for. Our coach Rajinder Singh prefers the Indian style. But as and when the coach changes so does the style of hockey.

But our coaches change very frequently?
Yes, every two years.

In your playing career of 15 years how many new coaches have you seen?
At least 13 since 1989.

How is the game affected if the coach is changed frequently?
The confidence level of players go down and with every new coach, the style also changes. Rajinder Singh — our current coach — allows the players to play their own style of ‘attacking’ hockey but asks them to follow the Indian style — it’s basically — go out in the 25-yard region and show your skills, get penalty corners and play positive hockey.

But don’t you think every new coach radically changes the players’ style of playing? Does that cause any harm?
Yes, it causes a lot of harm. Because a new coach asks the player to change his style, his footsteps, his dodge.

But do coaches of the international teams also change as frequently?
No, I don’t think so. The former coach of the German team — Paul Lissek, stayed for a long period, and the Dutch team’s previous coach Hans Jorritsam didn’t change for many years.

Didn’t Hans coach the Pakistani team for a while?
Yes. In 1994 he took charge of the Pakistani team and they won the World Cup, and Hans trained one of their players to become a penalty corner specialist who is today one of the best in the world, Sohail Abbas.

Do you feel Sohail Abbas is the strong point of the Pakistan team?
Yes. He has a strike rate of 99 per cent.

But he hasn’t scored much against our team.
Yes. Our rushout in the penalty corners is good. I have a good rushout and we have others also: two of our players — Jugraj Singh and Tirkey — are good at rushout and don’t give Sohail a chance to attack from the left angle. And when he scoops the ball then we place a player on the right angle to cover the goalkeeper.

Is the left angle more dangerous?
Yes

But how does the Dutch team score so many goals through penalty corners?
I feel their body structure makes the difference. Our players have a different body composition which is not as strong as the Dutch and lacks power.

Don’t you think a lean structure is flexible and has its advantages like dodging?
Yes. Our hockey is based on skill and our players rely more on skill.

Do you think the South Asian style of hockey is similar to the distinct Brazilian style of soccer?
Yes, Indian hockey is like Brazilian soccer.

How else has our training changed? Is it computer-based, better equipment…?
Yes, scientific training has been inducted which helps us study the opponents and form strategies on computers. When Cedric d’Souza was the coach, he tried to bring these things but mentally our players don’t understand this much. Our players continue to depend on their own skills rather than on computers. Personally, even I prefer to play my natural game.

Many of your teammates have said that using videos of teams we haven’t played before helps in better preparation against them?
Yes, man-to-man marking and zonal marking has helped.

And you are probably the most heavily marked player in international hockey?
Mukesh Kumar used to be heavily marked as well. When we play against teams like Germany and Holland, a couple of their players are out to mark me.

You are a star in these countries — France, Germany.
Yes. I have played in France for seven-eight years as also in Germany where I played for a top club — Stuttgart Kickers. I enjoyed these stints and learnt a lot as well, specially today my fitness level is good because of playing in these clubs abroad.

You are 35 years old which is beyond Indian standards. How many players have continued playing till this age?
There have been very few. I will continue to play for my country as long as I am fit.

As per the team management you are still one of the fastest, clocking 100 metres in 11 seconds.
I used to clock 11.2 seconds in 1989 when I made my debut and I still try to maintain the same pace.

I believe you are still the fastest over the 30-yard distance.
Yes. I covered that distance in 3.68 seconds at the Bangalore camp recently.

Isn’t playing for clubs abroad more lucrative than playing for the country?
No doubt I have made some…but it is little money playing for these clubs and cannot be compared to cricket. I have managed to construct a house and am also taking care of my family which comprises my parents, brothers and sister.

Do you belong to Pune or Bombay?
I was born in Pune.

You had a very humble beginning to your career.
I started in utter poverty. There was a time when I and my brothers did not have hockey sticks and used to borrow hockey sticks from other kids in the colony. But after my brother represented India, things started improving.

I have heard you used to collect shells outside Pune for the team.
I have been collecting cartridges for the last two years and this has helped me start my own academy.

Are these cartridges from the army weapons?
No. These are the ones used in computers — they are printer cartridges.

From where do you collect these cartridges?
We collect them from the corporate sector and a few hospitals.

What do you do with these cartridges?
We sell these to a firm in the United Kingdom. And we use the funds thus generated within our academy.

How much money do you raise by selling these cartridges.
About Rs 1 lakh per month.

You run an academy with this. If I tell this to a cricketer, he would laugh it off.
Most certainly. Cricket enjoys a very high status in our country. If a cricketer came to know that a player like Dhanraj Pillay is collecting funds to train younger players by selling cartridges, he would certainly have a laugh.

Don’t hockey players earn less as compared to the cricketers? How much do you earn for playing matches abroad?
We get only $20 per day from the Government of India.

That’s all?
That too after K P S Gill took charge. Till 1993 it used to be $10. If we put in a good performance, we get incentives from the IHF.

$20 per day is nothing…
Absolutely. With $20 you can’t even invite a guest to your room for a cup of tea abroad. As a result we have to invest our own money.

With $20, you can’t even buy gifts for friends and family
Yes, friends do expect some gifts. But even an astro-turf shoe costs Rs 2,000-3,000.

Have you ever taken the matter of low pay scale up with the federation — How to inspire people to play hockey?
Indian hockey needs a major victory. Also, I took every opportunity to convey these to Mr Gill. He used to do everything in his capacity like awarding incentives for good performance. It is the Indian government’s prerogative to increase the pay. With a pay of $20, an average man will not think of going to hockey, he would prefer cricket.

Yes even college-level cricket would be more lucrative. But the money coming into cricket is through sponsorship and commercialisation, not from the Government. Why isn’t the same happening in hockey?
Hockey is not a professional game. All decisions like clearing foreign tours are taken by the government.

An interesting fact is that when you made your international debut in 1989, Sachin Tendulkar also made his debut the same year? How do you feel about Sachin?
I have no complaints about anything. I am happy the way I am. It is a matter of pride to represent the country in the Olympics. Sachin is a living legend and I salute him for that — he is one amongst millions. And he also has money and all the luxuries of life.

And he has endorsements for all products like shoes, shampoos, perfumes, cars…
Sachin is Sachin and Dhanraj is Dhanraj. But Sachin can’t be an Olympian and I am very happy that I am an Olympian.

Hockey is a game in which India can truly become the world champion. What needs to be done to take India to that level?
The government should take appropriate steps to make India a formidable force.

In cricket, even if the team loses a match or tournament, the individual players who put in good performances still become stars despite the team’s defeat. If Sachin scores a fast century or Saurav or Dravid or Sehwag…
I think cricket has become an individual’s game now. If you score runs, you become a star. At times, man of the match awards are given to a player of the losing team. This can never happen in hockey.

Another observation in cricket is that players are not dropped from the team despite losing a tournament or series. In cricket, they have not won series abroad for 12 years but in hockey, sometimes players from a championship-winning team are also dropped.
Yes, six-seven players were dropped after we won the 1998 Asian Games hockey gold after 32 years. But the report in newspapers was that the players were being rested. I was dropped for nine months.

When you won the Asian Games gold, were you dropped or many others…
Both goalkeepers, A B Subbaiah and Ashish Ballal, as also Mukesh kumar, Sabu Verkey, Sandeep Somesh, Anil Aldrin and myself were dropped. But they (IHF) said they were resting us.

Players were rested but the coach was dropped. Why was the coach dropped?
Only the federation knows. Ours was a winning team that had won the Asian Games gold after 32 years.

But you had openly protested then. You tend to express your anger and don’t keep it inside.
I speak out on what is right. I also let Mr Gill know about what is happening. And he appreciates it.

Does he tolerate you? At one time, you wanted to leave hockey?
But he told me that you can’t do it because you are now a national property.

Another factor in the revival that is being seen in Indian hockey, probably because of Mr Gill, is that a number of good players from Punjab have come into the team, who were not there earlier.
There was Pargat Singh earlier…

But there was a phase after that when no Punjab player was in the team.
As of now we have seven-eight Punjab players in the team

What was the reason for the dearth of Punjab players earlier?
Earlier terrorism was prevalent there. Till 1990, I had not gone to Jalandhar to play tournaments. After 5-6 pm, there used to be curfew imposed. We hardly got an opportunity to go to the ground.

What changes have the Punjab players brought about in the team?
Some of these players that I observe are not ready to accept defeat, specially Jugraj Singh, Kanwalpreet, Gagan Ajit Singh — these players who have played the junior World Cup. Jugraj Singh has changed the course of quite a few matches, for example, in the Asian Games final against Korea, he played really well and took the score to 3-3.

So, you are saying that the coming of Punjab players after terrorism to be a big plus for Indian hockey…. Are you happy with Indian coaches?
Right now, I am happy with Rajinder Singh

Do you think Indian hockey will gain by hiring the service of foreign coaches?
We don’t need coaches from abroad as such. Perhaps we can use a foreign coach for the purpose of improving our penalty corners

But when you make suggestion to the federation or Mr Gill, do they understand you or do they feel that Dhanraj thinks he is a big star?
I have never thought of myself as a big star. I think Gill sahab understands me. Let me give you an example. BCCI listens to whatever Sachin Tendulkar says, as also does Mr Gill to whatever I say.

But that is not the norm. In hockey, players are kept subdued.
Yes, that’s right.

You were dropped after having won the gold and there was no hue and cry… but had Sachin, Saurav or Rahul been dropped even after losing the World Cup, there would have been riots.
Yes, it would have resulted in stone throwing and it becomes imperative to retain the player.

But it will change if you have one big victory.
Yes, we need a big victory in hockey, either in Olympics or the World Cup. Winning one of these two will give a tremendous boost to hockey.

We did beat Australia last year at the Champions Trophy but I had never thought that we could beat Australia by five goals as we did this time. This win has really boosted the morale of the players.