It generally follows a pattern. In recent times, the failure to get a medal in the Doha Asian Games, 2006, was one of the lowest points for Indian hockey. Add to that the bad show put up by India in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The two failures claimed another victim — coach Vasudevan Baskaran. The Olympian was just done with his fourth stint as the Indian coach. A host of players got the boot too. Throwing out some of the players perhaps was the need of the hour. For, some of the so-called 'stars' were becoming too big and difficult to control.

After Baskaran, it was another Olympian Joaquim Carvalho who was handed the responsibility. Carvalho took over during very troubled times, when the hockey team was the object of ridicule for not being able to prove its worth at the Asian level. Just imagine losing to China, a toddler in international hockey.

Carvalho's way of working was simple. He made things more than clear that if he is to be the coach, he needs to be given the team of his choice. That was done. As he began to mend the team, new talent began to emerge. Tushar Khandekar, Roshan Minz, SV Sunil, Sardara Singh, Sandeep Singh, Baljit Singh, VR Raghunath, Rajpal Singh, Bharat Chikkara among others. There were faces afresh and the Premier Hockey League had thrown up a host of exciting talent. These combined with the experience of Dilip Tirkey, Prabhjot Singh, Ignace Tirkey, Bimal Lakra, William Xalxo etc to form a solid core group.

There seemed to be a new beginning. With so much talent at his disposal, Carvalho began working in right earnest. For the first time, the team had a physio, masseur, physical trainer and video analyst were
working with them. Results began to come. Bronze medals came in from the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and the Champions Challenge in Boom (Antwerp). Then came the Asia Cup in Chennai, which India won quite
comfortably.

Victory in the Asia Cup was important and it proved a point. Maybe top teams like South Korea and Pakistan did field slightly depleted sides. But the Indians gained in confidence. Players were getting to be more well-rounded. Raghunath, a defender and the team’s drag-flicker, even scored a stunning field goal. Clearly, it was a high. The team believed in itself and qualifying for the Beijing Games did not seem too difficult. There was a rhythm. Indians had never scored field goals in such style for a long time.

But then, the party ended abruptly in Santiago. With the way things went on for the last 11 months, Carvalho definitely suggested that he was one who could handle the team well. And that there were signs of recovery. Not qualifying was the result of, maybe, a mental letdown for the Indian players. Are our players capable of handling stress? We need answers here.

Changing the coach again would mean repeating the same old mistake. A foreign coach may not be necessary. We have with us Australian legend Ric Charlesworth as the technical advisor. Why not make better use of him? Why was he at home in Perth and not with the team in Santiago? The two could retain their posts and work in tandem at least now.

Crying over spilt milk and sacking coaches and players are no answers really. Mending one’s ways and working with a long-term target are better options.

It’s a black, black hole

Nobody has a clue about the moneys involved in Indian hockey. There is no fixed amount/fee earmarked for the players. The Sahara deal, reportedly worth a few crores, is shrouded in mystery as till todate, the IHF has not disclosed the sponsorship amount.

Ask IHF secretary general Jyothikumaran and he will say, “We cannot make it public.”

For winning the Asia Cup last year, the players got no incentives. After threatening a “hunger strike,” they received Rs 5 lakh apiece, besides individual plots in Hyderabad, gifted by a land developer.