Aslam Sher Khan – Olympian & former member of Parliament Lok Sabha through this article express concern over current status of national game Hockey.
It is with an immense sadness I must announce the death of Hockey in India.It happened this year in January at the Hockey World Cup held in Rourkela, Orissa.
Even after the Orissa government spent 1000 crores, India finshed 9th.
It was a slow and painfull death for hockey in India which according to me began with introduction with astroturf being used in the 1976 Montreal olympics.
The last Olympic gold that India won was at the1980 Moscow which was boycotted by the U.S.A and europe and the only world cup it won was in 1975 Kuala lumpur, of which I had the privilege to being a part of.
Since then I have seen the decline of hockey, our national sport go from number one to last at 2012 London Olympics.
The reason for this downfall is not that India lacks the talent, but rather it was the criminal mismanagement of the succesive elected officials of the national and state bodies over the years.
They successfully managed to destroy the entire infrastructure and goodwill gained over the last several decades.
Throughout this era it was the only sport which drew the most spectators and was so popular with the masses, that it was made the national sport.
India’s hockey team is the most successful team ever in the Olympics, having won a total of eight gold medals.
From 1928 till the 1960 Olympics final, which it lost, India had 30-0 unbeaten record with six Olympic Gold medals.
To this end, I recently fought and won a court case in the Delhi high court against Mr. Narendra Batra the president of the F.I.H, Elena Norman CEO H.I and Hockey India.
In this case, I asked for the removal of Batra and the dissolution of Hockey India, on the grounds that the lifetime duration of the posts were illlegal.
As F.I.H chairman he could have done much to ensure the resurrection of the poor state of Indian Hockey.
But instead the opposite happened and all suggestions and opinions were disregarded and a dictatorial commercial approach was instead used by Mr. Batra to enrich himself and his associates at the cost of the demise of hockey in India.
The only solution now to resurrect Indian hockey in India is to start playing on a natural grass surface again.
All tournaments and all premier league should be played on a natural grass surface.
This will attract the spectators again, as the natural surface slows the game and calls for the players to showcase their dribbling, trapping and dodging skills.
Before the introduction of astroturf people would come and fill the stadiums to see their favourite teams and players showcase their talent. And this is what Hockey needs to be resurrected from the dead.
Today, India is a globally respected powerhouse and once we show the world the merit of playing hockey on a natural surface.
I am sure that we can convince the world to see the benefits, like in the 1960’s Brazil and Argentina refused to play on astroturf when the FIFA wanted to change the game.
On the same pattern we should take the lead and hold a hockey World cup tournament for the Sub continent, African and Asian countries.
By doing this, I am confident that we will once again create a large interest in the game in all developing nations and make Hockey a spectator sport once again, worthy of being our national sport.
(This article is written by Aslam Sher Khan, Olympian & former member of Parliament Lok Sabha)
