THE RIGHT END OF THE STICK

T.M. Damodaran
Former Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chief
‘We need astroturfs in places that are nurseries for hockey’
Looking for immediate solutions will be the biggest mistake. Indian hockey needs to look for sustainable answers, in response to what has happened. Knee-jerk reactions never help but that is not to be taken as a pronouncement that the structure that is in place should continue. We need to seriously rebuild.
More astroturfs are absolutely essential. We’ve been losing because of that and also owing to the changes in rules that require speed and stamina. The astroturfs are the key. One thing, I can immediately think of, concerns all these billionaires whom we celebrate every year. The number of billionaires has gone up, as the media has been reporting. Why can’t each one donate two to three astroturfs in different parts of the country?
We need top-class facilities, astroturfs at the centres that have been our basic nurseries where we have a tradition for hockey: Sansarpur in Punjab, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Coorg and Kovilpattai in Tamil Nadu are some I can think of. Are we investing enough here?
There’s also an urgent need to invest in sports psychology because hockey’s not just about your skill-set, there’s a strong mental dimension to it. Also the physical standards need to be raised at a younger age.
We need better insurance for players, some of whom face career-threatening injuries. In the absence of medical back-up, players will obviously shy away from engaging in physical play, which is how hockey is required to be played these days.
Also, what has happened is not the end of the world. We should take this as an opportunity to rebuild, as a wake-up call. This is not the time to write obituaries. As a nation, we need to send across the right signal to the players saying it’s OK, and that we are behind them, and that the only thing that matters is that they have learnt their lessons.
Across all sports bodies, we should get people who’ve played the sport at the highest level on the selection committees. They know exactly what happens on the field. At the top in administration, it should be a mixture of people who’ve played the sport, and those who can wield their influence at the right places.
Ultimately, it’s all about picking the right people for the right jobs, and helping them perform to the best of their abilities.

RIC CHARLESWORTH
Former Australian hockey player and coaching great; technical adviser, Indian Hockey
‘India needs to raise its coaching standards’
India’s failure to qualify for the Olympics is very disappointing. It is a big shock for the sport, but let’s be honest, it has been coming for some time. But looking ahead, it is imperative that we look at what has happened as a catalyst for good change, take it as the point from where things can’t get worse, and can only get better. But hoping doesn’t serve the purpose.
The absence of long-term planning has been the bane of Indian hockey for very long now. Now, that India have not qualified for Beijing, we need to focus on the London Games that will be held four-and-a-half years from now. If you can achieve something in between now and 2012, it will be great. But the focus has to be absolute and always on London, because that can be the only real answer to this debacle.
India needs to pool in all its resources and raise its coaching standards. It is in dire need of a very strong leadership, who will put in place a plan and stick to it throughout.
The International Hockey Federation’s ‘Promoting Indian Hockey’ programme needs to be adhered to. The team needed more exposure and experience ahead of the qualifiers. There were other things that needed to be rectified, and through this programme I was in the process of identifying them. It’s a long haul ahead, but India will come out of it, if it is committed to doing what is best for itself.

Adi Godrej
Chairman, Godrej Group
‘Government should have little to do with sports federations’
What we need is a total revamp of the system and strong leadership helming our progress from now on. There is always talk in all organisations for bold, young Turks to take over, but I don’t believe that young blood is necessary or critical for success. However, it has been established that a good team—a complete and competent team—needs to be in place to start a change, hence an overhaul of the administration might not be a bad idea.
I’ve always found in the past that sports bodies in India are badly infested with politics. The government should have very little to do with sports federations, ideally. It is not the government’s job to look after sports, and in the best-possible scenario, they should have minimum participation in the day-to-day or even long-term affairs of sport. They can at best be facilitators to the process of rebuilding now. Frankly, there should be an independent authority like the regulators we have for finance or telecom, who should be overseeing the management of sports in India. It is not the government’s job.
It is an unfortunate situation that hockey has landed itself in, but the most important thing is everybody’s resolve to get out of this mess. A willingness on the part of everyone to do whatever it takes. Clear thinking from top to bottom will help, so will the ability of the leadership to analyse their failures well and objectively.

Viren Rasquinha Former captain, Indian hockey team
‘We need younger selectors well-versed with modern hockey’
Because we had been qualifying for all these years, we had failed to see the truth: that we were in gradual decline. But through the last few years, we’ve done a few things right. The Premier Hockey League is perhaps the best thing to happen to Indian hockey. Only, now it should be expanded. It would be fantastic if we can have a similar PHL for juniors. Also, just one PHL over a short period of one month in the whole of the year is absolutely not enough. We need a longer, sustained schedule so that it’s not restricted to being a one-off affair in a year.
Also, we need to do something to take it out of one city. Because it is played out at one stretch and held at just one venue, we are missing out on a huge live-audience. A tournament has a different buzz if it’s coming to your town—the organisers can think that over, and tweak it from here on. Also, I’d like to see the current international players helping out the U 16s and U 18s. What happens is that because our juniors are completely not exposed to international hockey, they tend to be clueless about things. If the seniors who are travelling abroad, seeing the latest techniques share their experiences with the colts, it’ll help. But this again, can only be done if the seniors take an initiative. You can’t obviously force someone to be helpful. Ironical as it sounds, it should be spontaneous.
It is time to introspect, definitely not the time to pass the buck, because that cycle will always continue and achieve little. We need younger selectors completely well-versed with modern hockey and its demands.
There isn’t one problem I can zero in on, whether it’s conceding last-minute goals or fitness or something. Cumulatively, a lot of small problems are adding up to the losses. Hockey still has a fine tradition in India, but if we can’t groom the talent, then it’s nothing short of a criminal waste. World hockey will miss India at the Olympics, but we first need to worry about setting our house straight. And start soon.