The Olympics are upon us and after the horror of Beijing where India did not qualify for hockey for the first time ever since their first appearance, just making it to London made us Indian hockey supporters breathe a sigh of relief. Do we expect to have a podium finish? No, not very seriously . And yet, the match today exceeded everyone's expectations such that we began to expect a win and were disappointed to not, at the very least, equalize. Against Netherlands.
Perhaps we have lost more and lost worse to other teams but Netherlands remains in my memory as the nemesis of Indian hockey. I don't recall the tournament now. India playing against the Dutch were, for once, leading 3-0 with 7 minutes left on the clock. And then the electricity went. We rushed to a radio. By the time it was brought out and the correct wavelength identified, Holland had equalized! And as we heard, they scored again and had won the game 4-3 (You can see it all here). I have disliked the Dutch team ever since; in my head, Netherlands (more than Australia) has been a big bad wolf.
My loyalty was given to hockey at a young age, heavily influenced by tales told by Dad and Chachaji of the hockey games they played in and the hockey games they'd seen during their school days. Perhaps it helped that Indian cricket was also quite at its nadir in those formative years, though I would like to believe that my heart would have been given to hockey irrespective of its competitors.
My father went to a public school that shared its hockey practice grounds with the Indian team. He fondly remembers the time(s?) the school team played against the Indian team and proudly narrates the story of Surjit Singh's frustration at letting a school kid get past him and therefore taking him down^ - apparently, Surjit Singh's philosophy was that either the ball would get past him or the man, never both.
So I grew up on tales of hockey and history (the Indian glory at the Olympics*, the golden years that lasted till the late '60s, the last of the great wins of the 1975 World Cup), the turn to astro-turf, the loss of the art of dribbling and the fall of the (sub-continental) game. Despite it all, through the horrible 90s of my childhood, hockey remained the preferred sport.
Tonight, a young team on a blue turf they've barely played on, having only a few players with any Olympic experience, played well. Certainly not well enough but though they did not win, they helped put a few personal ghosts to rest. It was one match and it is one small sign but in my imagination finally the Dutch no longer seem invincible and larger-than-life.
There are five more games to go and only two teams to make the next round and all that India realistically hopes for is making the top six. The Indian Hockey Federation and its politics are still dirty, the Indian team is still mercurial, their game still fairly slow, and how the future will play out, through the Olympics and beyond, shall be revealed in time. Yet, for today, Michael Nobbs' boys seem to have a fresh energy and a spring in their step not often seen in the Indian team. For now, that is enough.
__________________________________________________________________
*a clip of the India-Germany final in 1936, which India won 8-1
^ Ajit Singh's reaction: Kyon jawaak nuun kutti jaana hain? [Why are you beating up/going after a kid?]
Perhaps we have lost more and lost worse to other teams but Netherlands remains in my memory as the nemesis of Indian hockey. I don't recall the tournament now. India playing against the Dutch were, for once, leading 3-0 with 7 minutes left on the clock. And then the electricity went. We rushed to a radio. By the time it was brought out and the correct wavelength identified, Holland had equalized! And as we heard, they scored again and had won the game 4-3 (You can see it all here). I have disliked the Dutch team ever since; in my head, Netherlands (more than Australia) has been a big bad wolf.
My loyalty was given to hockey at a young age, heavily influenced by tales told by Dad and Chachaji of the hockey games they played in and the hockey games they'd seen during their school days. Perhaps it helped that Indian cricket was also quite at its nadir in those formative years, though I would like to believe that my heart would have been given to hockey irrespective of its competitors.
My father went to a public school that shared its hockey practice grounds with the Indian team. He fondly remembers the time(s?) the school team played against the Indian team and proudly narrates the story of Surjit Singh's frustration at letting a school kid get past him and therefore taking him down^ - apparently, Surjit Singh's philosophy was that either the ball would get past him or the man, never both.
So I grew up on tales of hockey and history (the Indian glory at the Olympics*, the golden years that lasted till the late '60s, the last of the great wins of the 1975 World Cup), the turn to astro-turf, the loss of the art of dribbling and the fall of the (sub-continental) game. Despite it all, through the horrible 90s of my childhood, hockey remained the preferred sport.
Tonight, a young team on a blue turf they've barely played on, having only a few players with any Olympic experience, played well. Certainly not well enough but though they did not win, they helped put a few personal ghosts to rest. It was one match and it is one small sign but in my imagination finally the Dutch no longer seem invincible and larger-than-life.
There are five more games to go and only two teams to make the next round and all that India realistically hopes for is making the top six. The Indian Hockey Federation and its politics are still dirty, the Indian team is still mercurial, their game still fairly slow, and how the future will play out, through the Olympics and beyond, shall be revealed in time. Yet, for today, Michael Nobbs' boys seem to have a fresh energy and a spring in their step not often seen in the Indian team. For now, that is enough.
__________________________________________________________________
*a clip of the India-Germany final in 1936, which India won 8-1
^ Ajit Singh's reaction: Kyon jawaak nuun kutti jaana hain? [Why are you beating up/going after a kid?]
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