India’s national game is hockey, but it lacks any patronage and is considered as a poor cousin to cricket where all the wealth and richness resides. This came to the fore after India beat arch rivals and Asian Games champions Pakistan 4-2 via penalty shootout in a nail-biting final to win the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Ordos, China, in September. In the group encounter, India rallied from behind to hold Pakistan 2-2.
The arch light of the final was goalkeeper S Sreejesh who made two crucial saves for India after both the sides were locked goalless during normal and extra time. Rajpal Singh, Danish Mujtaba, Yuvraj Walmiki and Sarvanjit Singh scored for India in the penalty shootout, while Muhammad Rizwan and Waseem Ahmed scored for Pakistan.
Gurwinder Singh Chandi, who took the first shootout couldn’t hit the goalpost as Pakistan goalkeeper Imran Shah made a save and Sreejesh too stopped Haseem Abdul Khan. Mujtaba then cleverly sent the ball past Shah to give India 1-0 lead, which was equalised by Rizwan. However, Indian captain Rajpal sent the ball safely into the post to help India take a 2-1 lead. Sreejesh then stopped Shafqat Rasool from scoring by taking the shot on the pads. Yuvraj made it 3-1 and Pakistan’s Waseem trimmed the margin to 3-2, but Sarvanjit’s conversion past Shah ensured India’s win.
The Asian Games Champions could have tilted the game in their favour as they had seven penalty corners during normal match time, while India had only one. Credit should be given to the Indian defence and the goalkeeper Sreejesh for saving the conversions. V Raghunath stood out with his tackling and clearances, while SV Sunil was the first to be shown the green card for his handling.
On India’s win, coach Michael Nobbs said that it was a great win and fantastic to see a young Indian side win such a prestigious tournament. He praised both the teams and said they had enough chances.
In the group encounter, India were trailing 0-2, but rallied from behind to force a draw. Pakistan took a 2-0 lead through Muhammad Waqas (40th minute) and Muhammad Irfan (42nd) but India responded immediately with Rupinder finding the target from an indirect penalty corner while Danish Mujtaba scored the equaliser in the 53rd minute after Indians appealed, the umpires from South Korea and New Zealand held discussion and allowed the goal to stand. Pakistan entered the finals with 10 points from three wins and a draw, while India waited for the outcome of all matches before entering the finals. Unbeaten India scored nine points from two wins and three draws.
In the run up to the finals, unbeaten India had a goal difference of +7, way ahead of the others. India’s asset has been its forward line. Its moments came when they beat China 5-0, and it fought back from the verge of defeat twice. Against Malaysia, India were losing 1-2 and drew the match 2-2, while against neighbours Pakistan they were down 0-2 and fought back with two goals.
Despite Pakistan coach’s unsportsman attitude, India shone. Pakistan coach constantly abused Indian players and used the ‘F’ word liberally and shouted ‘Thank You’, whenever the umpires reprimanded India.
Cash Awards: Hockey India (HI) became a laughing stock after it announced a reward of Rs. 25,000 to each player for the win, which was turned down by the players. The Sports Ministry, the governments of Punjab and MP chipped in with generous rewards for the winning players.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a reward of Rs one lakh each to the members of the winning hockey team. Maharashtra Government announced a cash prize of Rs10 lakh to Yuvraj Valmiki and Mumbai Pradesh Committee requested CM Prithviraj Chavan to allot one flat to him from CM’s two percent quota and the cost of the flat would be borne by MPCC.
Meanwhile, the Kerala government announced a cash prize of Rs five lakh to PR Sreejesh for his remarkable role. Kerala Sports Minister KB Ganesh Kumar also announced a cash prize of Rs 50,000 to team manager Ramesh Kolappa. Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also awarded Rs 1.5 lakh each to Ignesh Tirkey, Manajit Kulu and Roshan Minz.
New Zealand Venue: International Hockey Federation (FIH) withdrew the hosting rights for the 2011 men’s Champions Trophy, which was to be held in Delhi from December 3-11, due to the informal agreement between Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) thus costing Team India dearly, which has lost an automatic berth in the elite eight-team event. For a berth in the Champions Trophy, India will play in the Champions Challenge to be held in South Africa in November. New Zealand will replace India as hosts of this year’s Champions Trophy.
In a statement, FIH president Leandro Negre said that they regretted moving the Champions Trophy from India. He said that it was difficult for the teams, organisers and the fans, but this was the only way that they could maintain the integrity of the sport.
There were embarrassing moments for the Indian hockey players as some of them were facing acute shoe shortage. Most players had only one pair of shoes for warm-up sessions and matches. Manjit Kullu, the left half back in the Indian team, played with warm-up shoes after his only pair of hockey turf shoes split into two. Playing with warm-up shoes is like running on ice wearing normal shoes and the player was lucky not to have injured himself. Harpreet Singh too did not have turf shoes. Both Manjit and Harpreet have been selected for the senior national team and it is difficult for them to buy a good pair of shoe that costs around Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000. On an average, a player uses three to four pairs annually and the pair provided by the Sports Authority of India is not that durable.
The arch light of the final was goalkeeper S Sreejesh who made two crucial saves for India after both the sides were locked goalless during normal and extra time. Rajpal Singh, Danish Mujtaba, Yuvraj Walmiki and Sarvanjit Singh scored for India in the penalty shootout, while Muhammad Rizwan and Waseem Ahmed scored for Pakistan.
Gurwinder Singh Chandi, who took the first shootout couldn’t hit the goalpost as Pakistan goalkeeper Imran Shah made a save and Sreejesh too stopped Haseem Abdul Khan. Mujtaba then cleverly sent the ball past Shah to give India 1-0 lead, which was equalised by Rizwan. However, Indian captain Rajpal sent the ball safely into the post to help India take a 2-1 lead. Sreejesh then stopped Shafqat Rasool from scoring by taking the shot on the pads. Yuvraj made it 3-1 and Pakistan’s Waseem trimmed the margin to 3-2, but Sarvanjit’s conversion past Shah ensured India’s win.
The Asian Games Champions could have tilted the game in their favour as they had seven penalty corners during normal match time, while India had only one. Credit should be given to the Indian defence and the goalkeeper Sreejesh for saving the conversions. V Raghunath stood out with his tackling and clearances, while SV Sunil was the first to be shown the green card for his handling.
On India’s win, coach Michael Nobbs said that it was a great win and fantastic to see a young Indian side win such a prestigious tournament. He praised both the teams and said they had enough chances.
In the group encounter, India were trailing 0-2, but rallied from behind to force a draw. Pakistan took a 2-0 lead through Muhammad Waqas (40th minute) and Muhammad Irfan (42nd) but India responded immediately with Rupinder finding the target from an indirect penalty corner while Danish Mujtaba scored the equaliser in the 53rd minute after Indians appealed, the umpires from South Korea and New Zealand held discussion and allowed the goal to stand. Pakistan entered the finals with 10 points from three wins and a draw, while India waited for the outcome of all matches before entering the finals. Unbeaten India scored nine points from two wins and three draws.
In the run up to the finals, unbeaten India had a goal difference of +7, way ahead of the others. India’s asset has been its forward line. Its moments came when they beat China 5-0, and it fought back from the verge of defeat twice. Against Malaysia, India were losing 1-2 and drew the match 2-2, while against neighbours Pakistan they were down 0-2 and fought back with two goals.
Despite Pakistan coach’s unsportsman attitude, India shone. Pakistan coach constantly abused Indian players and used the ‘F’ word liberally and shouted ‘Thank You’, whenever the umpires reprimanded India.
Cash Awards: Hockey India (HI) became a laughing stock after it announced a reward of Rs. 25,000 to each player for the win, which was turned down by the players. The Sports Ministry, the governments of Punjab and MP chipped in with generous rewards for the winning players.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a reward of Rs one lakh each to the members of the winning hockey team. Maharashtra Government announced a cash prize of Rs10 lakh to Yuvraj Valmiki and Mumbai Pradesh Committee requested CM Prithviraj Chavan to allot one flat to him from CM’s two percent quota and the cost of the flat would be borne by MPCC.
Meanwhile, the Kerala government announced a cash prize of Rs five lakh to PR Sreejesh for his remarkable role. Kerala Sports Minister KB Ganesh Kumar also announced a cash prize of Rs 50,000 to team manager Ramesh Kolappa. Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also awarded Rs 1.5 lakh each to Ignesh Tirkey, Manajit Kulu and Roshan Minz.
New Zealand Venue: International Hockey Federation (FIH) withdrew the hosting rights for the 2011 men’s Champions Trophy, which was to be held in Delhi from December 3-11, due to the informal agreement between Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) thus costing Team India dearly, which has lost an automatic berth in the elite eight-team event. For a berth in the Champions Trophy, India will play in the Champions Challenge to be held in South Africa in November. New Zealand will replace India as hosts of this year’s Champions Trophy.
In a statement, FIH president Leandro Negre said that they regretted moving the Champions Trophy from India. He said that it was difficult for the teams, organisers and the fans, but this was the only way that they could maintain the integrity of the sport.
There were embarrassing moments for the Indian hockey players as some of them were facing acute shoe shortage. Most players had only one pair of shoes for warm-up sessions and matches. Manjit Kullu, the left half back in the Indian team, played with warm-up shoes after his only pair of hockey turf shoes split into two. Playing with warm-up shoes is like running on ice wearing normal shoes and the player was lucky not to have injured himself. Harpreet Singh too did not have turf shoes. Both Manjit and Harpreet have been selected for the senior national team and it is difficult for them to buy a good pair of shoe that costs around Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000. On an average, a player uses three to four pairs annually and the pair provided by the Sports Authority of India is not that durable.
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