The more things change8230;

8220;To be honest, it was kind of different. And it was not just about coming back into the national camp after almost two years, but also about how different the two camps were,8221; admits Deepak Thakur, one of those making a re-entry. 8220;Last time, it was made almost clear that we 8212; the senior players 8212; were not too high on the priority list. This time, before we joined the camp, chief coach Harendra Singh and Dhanraj Pillay one of the selectors called many of us up to reiterate their faith in our talent.

8220;On Day One, it was nostalgic 8212; getting together, training and having fun with several of those who were team mates back in 2003-04. It was almost surreal. There were initial doubts on whether we were there just to make up the numbers, but with positive vibes all around, and a coach who said he believed in all of us, it was good,8221; he added.

For his part, Harendra said his first feeling on the first day of the camp was that of immense confidence. 8220;You are confident of yourself, your ideas and your team when you are given a specific time frame for your job he will continue till 2010. And I felt the same confidence in the players,8221; he said.

Now, the hard part
It may have been their first tentative steps back into the sport, but this time around, there will be no leeway. The first camp was in Bangalore 8212; a vibrant city where keeping the spirits up, in perfect weather, would8217;ve been relatively easy. Next week, the players will assemble in Bhopal, a city not quite buzzing with activity to help deal with hours of physical and mental exhaustion. And with the winter setting in, the honeymoon is over.

The next real competition they play in 8212; the four nation, double-leg tournament in Chandigarh in February, featuring Olympic champions Germany and European giants Holland, besides Pakistan 8212; will not be easy, especially after a 12-month break.
8220;We deserve to be among the best in the world, Indian hockey is alive and kicking,8221; is Harendra8217;s instant reaction. As an afterthought, he adds: 8220;But to expect a team that has been out of action for almost a year to come with the same level of performance as the other teams 8212; and they had prepared for four years for their Olympic dream 8212; may not be realistic.8221;

Deepak agrees. 8220;It takes time to build a team. It takes longer to make a good team, where every player not only knows his role but that of the others as well. The team that performed so well in 2003 had been playing together since 2000-01. We may not be at our best, but we will try our best. At the end of the day, there needs to be continuity to achieve results.8221;

The change that wasn8217;t
But then, Indian hockey has never really been just about the men who sweat it out on the field. When KPS Gill and his cronies were dethroned in May, there was hope that things would be different. But with time slipping away and no concrete changes evident, the hopes are turning into doubts.
The senior team8217;s camp was supposed to begin in August, right after the Olympics, with a new team management. That didn8217;t happen. The administration was supposed to get transparent, with former players taking charge. That turned out to be just a faccedil;ade; the real power lay with the Indian Olympic Association, and the IOA bosses have too much on their plate to give their undivided attention to a game that needs surgery, not a band-aid, to recover.
The elections to Hockey India 8212; the grand new name coined for the national association that will be 8212; are still far from being held.

A foreign coach was supposed to help bring the whiff of professionalism into the stale set-up; one of the most renowned coaches, Ric Charlesworth, came for a few months and spent most of his frustrated time here clearing red tape. He now heads the mighty Aussies. 8220;We have shortlisted seven candidates as per the recommendations of the FIH,8221; Mohammad Aslam Khan, convenor of the ad-hoc committee, said. 8220;The interviews will most probably be done by the end of the month and then the process will move ahead.8221;

Gill 038; Co were expected to crawl back into the shadows, leaving the new set of ad-hoc members to clean up the mess. Instead, Gill has only become more vocal, the ad-hoc members are helpless and the financial and administrative mess shows no signs of clearing up. As for the administrative and financial records, everything on paper for the past 14 years is still under Gill8217;s custody.

Trial 038; error
With no recent performances to guide them, the five wise men in the selection committee 8212; Aslam Sher Khan, Ajitpal Singh, Ashok Kumar, Zafar Iqbal and Pillay 8212; went by their instincts, and fading memories, to shortlist the probables. Result: first a furore on several players left out, then some long-forgotten names yanked back from obscurity. Men like Deepak Thakur, Bimal Lakra and VS Vinaya suddenly found themselves back in the spotlight. And for these one-time stars of the game 8212; sounds funny, considering they were playing until a couple of years back 8212; it was not an easy walk back.

8220;See, I won8217;t deny that there were doubts,8221; Deepak says. 8220;After all, so many of us have lost our best playing years. But one can either keep looking back in regret, or move ahead and take the second chance with both hands. If nothing else, ye vaada hai: pichle teen saal ki kasar agle ek saal me puri karunga. I promise: I will make up for the last three years in the next one year.8221;

Bimal Lakra, the man Charlesworth once said was the best player to have never played an Olympics, is circumspect. Having famously walked out of a national camp, vowing never to return after being mistreated, ignored and overlooked repeatedly, he feels wanted again. 8220;I now simply hope to play for India again and give my best,8221; he says, but the hurt over all those years of being ignored is evident in his tone.
It will not be easy for the rest either.

At the recent Nehru and Shastri hockey tournaments, Harendra made it clear that he was concerned. 8220;I saw both tournaments, since most of the India campers were playing here. But I am concerned. Maybe the fact that we concentrated on strengthening at the camp has slowed down the players a bit, since you need time to recover. There can be any number of reasons, but if this is the level of play in domestic meets, what will they do internationally? There is a complete lack of application, interest, understanding and innovation,8221; he said, adding that he would sit down with the players in Bhopal and figure out what affected their performance.

The biggest achievement for him, he says, is the fact that players come up with ideas and inputs, they are involved in planning. 8220;You don8217;t talk down to players, to talk to them; have a dialogue and discussion, not order them. If this can continue, things will only improve,8221; says the man whose appointment was also under the scanner, his critics saying he had no proven track record.

Players8217; concerns
The players might be bonding together, and they may be involved in planning and strategising, but things are still far from perfect as far as they8217;re concerned.
The assertion that former players would understand their plight better may have been made in good faith, but nothing has come of it yet. They continue to slog, desperately seeking innovations, world-class facilities and support staff and technological back-up to match-up against the best. A senior player at the national camp revealed that with the kind of arrangements they get, it was a miracle that players were even able to manage as well as they do, and that there was no innovation in the training methodology.

But if players were afraid to question Gill, they are left wondering with the new regime 8212; whether to trust it and raise their hopes, or be resigned to their state. Successfully defending the junior Asia Cup, they were left with just that 8212; the trophy. Ad-hoc committee convenor Mohammad Aslam Khan said four months back that they would rewards the boys once the funds are cleared. Last heard, they were still waiting.

This year saw several firsts for Indian hockey. It saw India absent at the Olympics for the first time ever; it saw India crash out of the top-10 in world rankings for the first time since they were instituted in 1998; and it was the first time that there was no Indian in the nominations for the world8217;s best player 8212; either in senior or junior category. And for the first time, no Indian figured in the annual All-Star team.

But with the national camp beginning again, the national championships likely in the last week of December, and several international assignments scheduled for the first half of 2009, it would appear that the gestation period is over, that the rust is about to fall off to reveal a gleaming, new future for Indian hockey.
But even the most ardent supporter of the sport in the country will be saying a silent prayer for a safe delivery from the depths of despair.

THE COMEBACK MEN
Vikram Pillay: Comes from Khirki, the birthplace of Dhanraj Pillay, a place with a tradition of throwing up hockey talent. A midfielder known as the engine room of the team for his athleticism, rough and physical play and fast runs down the flanks, he was also one of the chief motivators on field when part of the outfit. Came into the spotlight after the 2001 junior World Cup. Was termed 8216;over the hill8217; and dropped.

Bimal Lakra: The linkman who controls the midfield like a leech. A feeder and playmaker, he is exceptionally skilled and keeps the ball well. One of the most hardworking players in the side. Often a victim of politics, he has missed out on most major tournaments India has played despite consistently good performances. Was also a part of the 2001 junior World Cup squad.

VS Vinaya: A skillful and opportunistic midfielder. Supports the midfield and assists in attacks and is solid on the flanks as well. Was termed too slow for modern hockey, but was named the best player when he played in the German league.

Arjun Halappa: A man for all seasons and all positions 8212; he8217;s diminutive and deceptively frail, but a powerhouse on the field. A good feeder as well as a poacher. Belongs to Coorg, that has traditionally been a nursery for national hockey team players. Like Vinaya, was termed too slow for modern hockey. Made an impression first in the 2001 junior World Cup squad.

Deepak Thakur: Part of the strike force that stormed every opposition in 2003-04, he was the top scorer at India8217;s maiden junior World Cup win in 2001 and made it to the Asian Games and junior Asia Cup all-stars teams. At his peak, he had a deceptive turn of pace, but was often accused of having an attitude problem.