Indian Hockey 2009

It may take some time for the Indian hockey to bring back its golden days, but 2009 showed that there was at least light at the end of the tunnel. Given the right environment, a revival is very much on the cards. It was a mixed bag for India in 2009. The men’s hockey team finished second best behind the Netherlands in the 4-nation Punjab Gold Cup, clinched the Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy after a gap of 13 years, but in spite of their top billing, drew a blank in the Asia Cup. The year ended with a bit of disappointment for the men as India lost to Pakistan in the semi-finals of the Champions Challenge I in Salta, Argentina. Having been in great form throughout the tournament, the 6-3 defeat against Pakistan meant India lost a great opportunity to qualify for the Champions Trophy in 2010. India beat hosts Argentina to win bronze as New Zealand beat Pakistan in the final. In spite of administrative issues and lack of exposure and facilities, it was finally Chak de for India’s women as they defeated formidable South Korea 3-2 to enter the final of the Asia Cup and grab a berth in the 2010 World Cup in Argentina.
Indian men had several golden opportunities throughout the year. They started sharing a 4-Test series against Argentina and it stood them in good stead going in to the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup which featured teams like Germany and the Netherlands. After denying Netherlands two wins in the group stage, India, at last, failed to maintain their success against the European powerhouse in the final. Netherlands pulled off an excellent 2-1 come-from-back victory. India paid for poor short-corner conversion rate as India messed up five short corners in the final.
India carried the momentum and confidence into the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, a tournament which they had not won for the past 13 years. But this time in Ipoh, India broke their jinx against hosts Malaysia. They won 3-1 to return comprehensive winners. This was India’s fourth cup win, the three others coming in 1985, 1991 and in 1995. Then came the low point. Needing an outright win to book a place in the semi-finals, India squandered a two-goal lead and settled for a 2-2 draw against China to see their title defence go up in smoke in the Asia Cup in Kuantan, Malaysia. Earlier in the tournament, India lost to Pakistan 3-2.
Apart from poor conversion rate and the ability to hold on to leads, India paid for lack in consistency on the field. Off the pitch, there was lack in consistency in hockey administration as well. With the Indian Olympic Association controlling hockey affairs, state units revolted against the defiant attitude of IOA president Suresh Kalmadi. With calls to re-establish the now defunct Indian Hockey Federation, the IOA was under pressure to hold free and fair elections to form a democratic unit. The IOA-formed Hockey India got its due recognition from the international hockey federation (FIH), but only just. India came on the verge of losing the 2010 World Cup as power-crazy officials fought among themselves and FIH insisted that state units be recognised to form a united body. Even if elections are due, hockey on the field didn’t suffer too much really. India finally got a new foreign coach. Jose Brasa, the man who guided the Spanish women’s team to gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, took the reigns over from stop-gap coaches Harendra Singh and Ajay Bansal. India’s love-affair with foreign coaches has not been good. Former Australian legend Ric Charlesworth made an acrimonious exit and hence Brasa will always be under pressure.
Brasa, a no-nonsense coach, started the process of “make-over” of the Indian team. It was largely due to him that the team played more exposure matches abroad. India played Test series in Canada, went on a three-nation European tour playing some top teams en route. The Champions Challenge defeat may be disappointing but at least the team has started winning matches. On a sadder note, goalkeeper Baljit Singh’s fledgling career was halted after an eye injury during a national camp in Pune. He was hit by a golf ball. Baljit is regaining vision after a series of operations in the United States. India’s captain Sandeep Singh is also recovering from injury. India can’t miss the prolific scorer in the Delhi World Cup in February-March next year. The 2010 World Cup at home will be crucial for India. Having lost the Champions Challenge I in Argentina, India could still mathematically qualify for the Champions Trophy in Monchengladbach in Germany in July-August, if they finish in the top 3 among the 12 participating nations.
With Germany having won the men’s Beijing Olympics gold in 2008, all eyes this year was on the Champions Trophy in Melbourne. Australia overcame a two-goal half-time deficit to beat Germany 5-3 and retain the Champions Trophy for a record 10th time. South Korea came from behind to defeat The Netherlands 4-2 and claim the bronze medal, and Spain downed England for fifth place. Argentina successfully defended their women's Champions Trophy title in Sydney, defeating Australia 4-3 on penalty strokes after 85 minutes of scoreless play. The loss puts Australia out of next year's Champions Trophy in England under the ranking system which determines participation. Olympic champions The Netherlands took bronze, defeating Germany 5-2 and England took the wooden spoon, losing 7-0 to China. As a last bit of recognition for Indian hockey, veteran striker Prabhjot Singh and Surinder Kaur found a place in the FIH All-Star squads. Prabhjot is in a squad of the world’s top 18 players to be coached by Charlesworth. In the women’s team, Surinder is the lone Indian player. The All-Star teams 2009 were selected by visitors of the FIH official website.