In my last article I had written how hockey which is our national sport has no value today in India. In this article I have a story to support it.
The other day I was walking on Bandra station to catch a train. There I saw Viren Rasquinha leaving the station. I’m sure most of the people reading this won’t know who I’m talking about.
So let me tell u all that I’m talking about Viren Rasquinha, the hockey player from Mumbai who played for the Indian National Team. He was a national level hockey player. He retired from hockey just a few days back to pursue his management studies. He played many games for our country and is quite a regular face on the newspapers .
He was casually walking with a bag hung around his shoulders and earphones in his ears like any other person on the station. I saw him and kept staring at him. I was wondering ‘What is Viren Rasquinha doing on Bandra station?’ But I was more surprised to see that no one seemed to recognize him there. No one even gave him a second look. He was just another guy for everyone else there. If it would have been Sachin or Sourav walking there you can imagine what the scenario would have been. Even some small time cricketer or a TV star would attract more attention. So why not a big hockey player like Viren Rasquinha ? I saw one news channel going around asking people for the names of five hockey players in the Indian national team and not a single person could answer it.
I would blame the media for this. If the media puts the hockey news and hockey players photos in some corner of the newspaper we cant expect the people to notice it. We know how the media can make or break something. So I hope the media does something to save our dying National game and their stars.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
ya ur rite dat many of us dont kno who viren rusquina is? who is represanting indian hocky,but for this only media is not responsible but also indian hocky management, specially mr Gill.Cricket is famous in india because of its management i.e BCCI n its president Sharad Pawar who introduces many new schemes n methods in indian cricket like IPL.dats why BCCI is worlds richest cricket board,richer than Manchester United also.so if indian hocky will get management like BCCI n president like Mr Sharad Pawar, then who knows u will find Ignes Tirky giving autograph to bunch of people at Bandra station... good topic ...keep it up
i had to say the same thing what pradnyesh has written yaar....i agree wid him but partly its not sharad pawar who has transformed bcci hes dere only for money its jus that the selectors are choosing youngsters n they r doing well...good point though deby...
Indian hockey first needs to undergo a vigilant introspection, followed by encouragement to restore the self-belief that is essential for producing results to restore the country’s pride.
Hockey’s marginalisation was the result of Indian teams’ repeated faltering on the global stage, failing to make the semi finals of seven successive World Cups since 1975 and six Olympic Games after 1980.
Indian hockey is modern sport’s classic ‘riches to rags’ story, marking the dwindling support for the game in a country gripped with an obsession for cricket that threatens to push all other sports out of the frame.
The decline began from the grass roots. The schools that used to take pride in their hockey teams have almost vanished from the horizon. States that regularly supplied quality players for the national squads aren’t of the same calibre. The game needs to be projected as a viable career option for attracting youngsters.
Making hockey an attractive proposition is essential to retain these talented youngsters, lest they will be weaned away by other sporting disciplines.
Administrators have for years fiddled with the proposal to reduce the number of ‘A-Grade’ tournaments. Thus compromising with the larger interest of the game, the administrators decided to postpone all grade-one competitions - where the country’s top players normally featured. This left little space for showcasing talent across the nation.
India has never figured among the medal winners at the Champions Trophy apart from a bronze in 1982. The drastic measures suggest it is becoming desperate to secure a place on the podium.
Deby, you have touched upon a really important issue. The failure has been on the part of lack of initiative & encouragement to the sport, which could have been provided by the administrators & the media. However, due to inefficient administration & negligence of common man, the fate of this sport in India has been put in danger.
Post a Comment