IS THIS FAIR PLAY BY THE INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY FEDERATION???
With the Olympic Hockey Qualification tournament coming up shortly, Bhaarateeya hockey is back again in the news (more I would say for the wrong reasons).. In this context, I'm reproducing an article of mine published in 2007 on indianhockey.com.
Is this Fair Play?
By Shiva Iyer
The FIH is one of the main players in the demise of Indian hockey and this has also been compounded no doubt by the nefarious internal politics of the IHF (Indian Hockey Federation). The FIH has been on a support-Bhaarateeya-hockey or more appropriately, revive-Bhaarateeya-hockey mantra, concerned by the dejecting fall of the sport in one of the biggest markets in the world.
So this concern, we can all see, is not out of a genuine love for Bhaarateeya hockey, but more to get the moolah out of the huge Bhaarateeya market. This move comes also after the International Olympic body has threatened FIH that field hockey’s future as an Olympic sport is under review as there are other non- Olympic sports with more potential that are eagerly waiting to take hockey’s Olympic slot. (That is also another reason why the FIH is going all out in promoting the sport in China, another potential huge market). The FIH, along with the new Hockey India is now actively trying to revive the fortunes of Bhaarateeya hockey and aiming for a top-4 consistent world ranking for this former Asian giant.
The demise of grass as a playing surface precisely throttled artistic hockey and rushed in the rise of power hockey.
This was also compounded by the periodic tinkering of rules to suit the fast and powerful European style of play. And Bhaarateeya hockey silently bore all this injustice. Of course, there were token protests now and then from former hockey stalwarts, but the FIH was unconcerned at that time…why???
At that time, Bhaarath was still a poor country and not a big market force. Now the economic tables have changed and the FIH has realized that it can no longer afford to continue the step-motherly treatment it had so far meted out to Asian hockey and decided to play friend. Bhaarath should now put its foot down and re-start playing on grass with the rest of the Asian continent supporting such a move.
If lucrative TV-rights FIH tournaments are going to be held in South Asia, then the hosts should not budge from playing on grass. Just like lawn-tennis is being played on many surfaces, hockey should also start doing this. And just like in the Davis Cup, the host nation should be allowed to choose the surface of play. Then a true champion would be the one that wins on all surfaces. Before anyone rushes to any conclusions, it is not being hinted at all that synthetic surfaces should be abandoned; but should be one of the surface options. If the FIH does not relent then let us follow our own sport - grass hockey and let Bhaarath once again start producing dribbling wizards like Dhyan Chand.
Of course, the FIH is now backing China too and that’s where Bhaarath may lose out. But India and other Asian hockey nations should join hands and stick to their guns. Unfortunately, the Asian hockey nations have absolutely shown no unity on this or other hockey issues, as a result the FIH have made merry on this lack of unity and have blatantly twisted the sport to their advantage.
The sub continental hockey fans have the right to understand the demise of artistic hockey. Don’t we all have yelling sessions when we see Brazilians playing dull football that yields a 1-0 result? Similarly, we need to know why power hockey has suddenly or in the last decade or so emerged as the only viable hockey that we watch.
The logic and the need for the revival of grass as a field hockey surface is simple – Fair Play. If sub-continental hockey nations have to adjust their style of play while playing on synthetic hockey turfs (which are unsuited to their style of hockey and also their genetic make up and physique) when playing the European hockey powers including Australia, then it is only fair that the Europeans also adjust to grass when they are playing the South Asian teams in Asia.
Isn’t that Fair Play?
If we have to adjust to the power and speed of the Europeans on synthetic surface, then let the Europeans contend with our artistry, magic, and flair when they are playing us on grass. It is simply unfair to expect Asians to consistently play top notch hockey on surfaces unsuitable to their natural style of play and genetic physical make-up. It is akin to drawing blood from stone. On synthetic surfaces, the success that sub-continental hockey would achieve would be at best inconsistent and sporadic unlike the Germans, the Dutch, and the Australians who have solidly etched their homes on these fast unforgiving surfaces.
Maybe the FIH could adopt the following steps in the name of Fair Play.
1. Bring back grass as a bonafide international hockey playing surface while still retaining astro-turf.
2. The choice of surface should automatically go to the host nation for the tournament that it hosts. To make it fair alternate the World Cup and the Champions trophy between Europe and Asia.
Advantages of bringing back grass are manifold:
a. The most important would be the revival of artistry so typical of sub-continental hockey. It would also bring back fans in droves and in turn lucrative TV rights would follow.
b. Grass is also a knee friendly surface as soccer aptly demonstrates. Those relatively skinny sub-continental legs would definitely find the going a bit easier so that they can then concentrate on weaving their magic.
c. Cheaper to lay and maintain (the turf is highly water intensive) and would help FIH in its vision to make inroads into poorer countries of the third world and most importantly help FIH in its quest to make field hockey a permanent fixture in the Olympics, something that is in limbo now.
d. Would help countries like Bhaarath to identify rural talent from Punjab, Bihar, Coorg etc.
e. Would also help the Europeans to develop artistic wizards of their own.
f. Would usher in the vintage days of old style sub-continental field hockey and bring lots of variety that is sadly lacking in the game today. It would also stop the mindless periodic tinkering of the playing rules by the FIH in its vain attempts to bring excitement and flair into the game.
Conclusion
The game has now become a ridiculous power game where the opponents try to bludgeon each other into submission by thundering in brutal penalty corner drives by muscular bullies’ intent on tearing the goal-net.
But for grass to make a comeback for international hockey, Asian hockey nations should actively champion the issue and even threaten boycott of international tourneys if the FIH does not comply. Unfortunately the own internal blood-letting and miasmic politics of the IHF and others like the PHF have shackled their clout effectively. But the most important voices are of us, the sub-continental fans. It is our national game for, God’s sake, which the FIH has made a mockery of and now are running after our big TV market money.
Bring back grass and play us on that at least when in our backyard. Just like how Spain, Argentina hold their home Davis Cup ties on clay and Australia on grass.
The FIH knew that the laying and the upkeep of the synthetic surface are very expensive, out of reach of common-rural Bhaarath, our main hockey talent pool. And that is how they took the steam and life out of sub-continental hockey, once an almost unstoppable force. And today when one looks back and sees the enormity of what has transpired, any sane fair minded person is totally aghast. And now when things are in total shambles for sub-continental hockey, the FIH is patronizingly offering to revive its fortunes.
(The original article can be found on:
http://asiacup2007.indianhockey.com/isthisfairplay.php )
The writer is an Indian hockey fan and lives in India/Australia. If you want to get in touch with him, you can go to his website: https://sites.google.com/site/omsriguru/sivaram
The writer is an Indian hockey fan and lives in India/Australia. If you want to get in touch with him, you can go to his website: https://sites.google.com/site/omsriguru/sivaram
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