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This is an archive article published on August 11, 2012
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Opinion Penalty corner

India's hockey coach,Michael Nobbs,has acknowledged our team’s poor performance at the Olympics.

The Indian Express

August 11, 2012 03:04 AM IST First published on: Aug 11, 2012 at 03:04 AM IST

Penalty corner

India’s hockey coach,Michael Nobbs,has acknowledged our team’s poor performance at the Olympics. It is time we did away with all excuses and asked the question: When will Indian hockey revisit its glorious past? There was a time when the sport rivalled cricket in popularity. We hardly ever lost a major tournament. Now,Indian players are often not up to the task. The players’ poor strategy and stamina when compared with their rivals,especially the European teams,is worrying.

— Ganapathi Bhat,Akola

Inconvenient turf

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The performance of India and Pakistan in hockey has been dismal at the London Olympics. In their respective group matches,India scored six goals and lost all five matches,while Pakistan scored nine goals and won two matches. India has won the Olympic gold in hockey a record eight times,and Pakistan twice,but since the 1988 Seoul Olympics neither of these two teams have made it to the finals. The main culprit is the AstroTurf,which has favoured the European and Australian hockey teams. India and Pakistan excelled in the sport as long as it was played on grass — a surface easily available for practice,unlike the expensive artificial turf. India should transform the hockey scene by bringing back the old artistry on grass. They could start an IPL-like tournament for hockey on grass,and invite the world to play it again,the Indian way.

— J.V. Yakhmi

Mumbai

Gunning for Modi

ARGUABLY,no Indian politician has got the attention Narendra Modi has — in the form of a sustained campaign against him. Modi-bashing has become an art. Articles by Javed Anand and J.S. Bandukwala (‘Why Modi cannot shake off 2002’,IE,August 10) are merely a drop in the ocean. What is parroted by messengers of the Fourth Estate and the academia,with repeated assertions,becomes the truth. We have an appalling public health infrastructure and a crumbling public education sector. These are arguably bigger concerns for citizens,irrespective of caste,creed or religion. And the nation needs an able leader who can focus on these and other developmental issues.

— Abhishek Puri

Chandigarh

Battling race

THE shootout at the Wisconsin gurdwara and the burning down of the Islamic Center of Joplin,Missouri,point to the rising religious intolerance in the US,notwithstanding the robust law-and-order machinery and judicial system there. This will dent the country’s image as a safe crucible for a multiethnic population,a modern state for a model society.

— Bichu Muttathara

Pune

Corruption,industry

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THIS refers to ‘India,in transition and corrupt’ (IE,August 8). The argument that “corruption will continue till the country’s industrialisation is complete” is incoherent and misleading. The transition from a feudal (agricultural) to a modern (industrial) society is difficult,but this doesn’t mean that it is not possible to eradicate corruption during that phase. We cannot sit idle and wait for the completion of industrialisation.

— Kshitij Gupta

Narwana