It is a shattering blow to the national game of hockey. Downgraded from the priority list and out of favour with the government, it has hit a nadir. For the first time in 80 years, eight-time gold medalist India has failed to qualify for the Olympics. Try as it might to tell everybody otherwise, the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) must admit that this slide has not been sudden. It has been there for all to see for the past decade or more. India, gold medalist in 1980 at the Moscow Games boycotted by western countries, was forced to qualify for Beijing after missing an Asian Games medal for the first time in Qatar in 2006. The governing body of the game must take much of the blame for the sorry state of affairs.

The IHF tried to help revive the game in India by funding the appointment of four-time Olympian Ric Charlesworth as technical director. But the experienced Australian, who was supposed to help the team qualify for Olympics, was conspicuous by his absence in Santiago. So were tried and tested players like Arjun Halappa, Len Aiyappa, Sandeep Singh and Deepak Thakur. Britain was the toughest challenger in Chile. As far as Indian hockey was concerned the stakes couldn't have been higher; yet the players failed to deliver. Poor penalty corner conversions, failure to capitalise on chances and getting yellow cards at inconvenient times have contributed to the team's collective failure down the years. Besides, by losing to Britain in the league the Indians put pressure on themselves in the decider. They again proved that they are unable to cope with the aggressive style of Europeans and Australians.

The IHF must face the fact that India's glory days in hockey are history. It needs fresh efforts to bring back the golden days. It must draw up a comprehensive rebuilding plan directed at the grassroots and have programmes that will strengthen the domestic circuit. It must regroup its resources and prepare the players. The IHF must immediately take remedial measures to arrest further slide. Or else, there will be no comebacks for the national game in the near future. One shudders to think as far ahead as 2010 when New Delhi will host the men’s field hockey World Cup.