he fourth edition of the Federation Cup was held from December 4 - December 11 at the Begumpet Police Stadium at Hyderabad. Indian Airlines were the defending champions. The semi-final lineup was as follows:

Pool A	Indian Airlines	Air India
	beat Mumbai 3-2 beat Gujarat 8-1 beat Tamil Nadu 4-1 drew with Air India 1-1	drew with Tamil Nadu 1-1 beat Mumbai 5-3 drew with Indian Airlines 1-1 beat Gujarat 5-2
Pool B	Punjab	Services
	beat Services 1-0 beat Hyderabad 4-1 beat Railways 3-0 beat Karnataka 3-1	lost to Punjab 0-1 beat Karnataka 2-0 beat Railways 3-1 beat Hyderabad 3-1

In the semi-finals, Services pulled off a major upset by thrashing the defending champion Indian Airlines 4-0 while Punjab defeated Air India 7-5 via the tiebreaker in the two thrill-packed semifinal matches.

Services then continued its winning spree and defeated Punjab 2-1 to record its first ever title triumph in the Federation Cup hockey championship. K Horo and K Poonacha scored for the winners, while Baljeet Singh converted the solitary attempt for Punjab. Defending champions Indian Airlines finished third after thrashing Air India 4-1 in a hard-fought relegation tie. Doordarshan showed the final live on the Metro Channel (DD 2).

ce forward Dhanraj Pillai of Mumbai has been named skipper of the Indian hockey team for the Test-series against visiting Germany. The series commences on January 5. The team is as follows:

Position	Team Members
Goalkeepers	Jagdish Ponappa (Mumbai), R. V. S. Prasad (Services)
Full Backs	Ajay Kumar, Dilip Tirkey (IA), Lazarus Barla (Rlys), K. K. Poonacha (Services)
Half Backs	Thirumal Valavan (TN), Ramandeep Singh (Punjab), Anwar Khan (Rlys), Sukhbir Singh Gill (Mumbai), Baljit Singh Chandi
Forwards	Dhanraj Pillai, Gavin Ferreira (Mumbai), Mukesh Kumar, Samir Dad (IA), Baljit Singh Dhillon, (Punjab), Rajeev Mishra (Rlys), Harbhajan Singh (BSF)
Coaches	V. Bhaskaran, C. R. Kumar

Germany will play their first match in Chennai on January 5, followed by Bangalore on January 7, Amritsar on January 9 and the final test in Delhi on January 11. The umpires for the series are Steve Graham of Wales and Keith Cooper of England. The Indo-German test series is a preparation event for both the teams keeping in mind the May World Cup in Utrecht.

In an injury update, Olympian Vasudevan Baskaran took over as coach of the Indian hockey team from Pargat Singh who was down with chicken pox. The entire half line had to be replaced, with Ramandeep Singh, S S Gill and Anwar Khan also come in place of the injured trio of Mohammed Riaz, Harpreet Singh and Baljit Singh Saini.

elebrated hockey coach Horst Wein was in Hyderabad for a week-long coaching clinic in conjunction with the Federation Cup tournament that took place at Begumpet Hockey Stadium in Hyderabad. The clinic was sponsored by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). 56-year old Horst Wein is the author of "The Science of Hockey" - the world famous coaching manual.

The theme of Horst Wein's clinic was "How to Unlock the Innate Potential of Indian Hockey." The secret, according to Wein, lay in stimulating young players to think. "We must get players to think on their own. Instruction is a negative concept - it only gets players jump up and down like puppets", he said. Wein championed the cause of mini hockey, so popular in Europe and Australia. Three-a-side games on a mini pitch, with four goals provides a lesson or two in drawing out defenders before making a move. It's also fun, said Wein.

Wein termed India's silver at the Junior World Cup in Milton Keynes last November as an accident. He said, "I saw nothing different in your juniors even though they reached the final. They were lucky, especially against Germany who should have scored six goals in the first half of the semi-final." Wein was in Milton Keynes mainly to see his son, 18-year-old Christian play for Germany.

Wein represented Germany 22 times on the hockey field. Wein quit playing hockey in 1966 at the age of 31 to concentrate on coaching. Wein's coaching programmes have met with enormous success in Germany and Spain, his adopted country for almost 24 years.

ockey is a passion for 16 year old Gagan Ajit Singh. But then, it couldn't have been any other way. His Olympian father and Olympian uncle - Ajit Singh and Harmik Singh - fed him with anecdotes of their playing days, and the young child's appetite and passion for the game grew.

Gagan Ajit Singh made steady progress from Shahid Bhagat Singh Park in Ferozepur to Sports College, Jalandhar to the Junior Nationals in June 1997, where he emerged the highest scorer with 25 goals. His striking power was also underlined when he became the highest scorer for Air-India in the all-India Gurmeet Singh tournament and the Jawaharlal Nehru tournament in 1997.

Gagan and his colleague Ajay Kumar, now a defender with Air-India, used to have night practice sessions at the National Stadium. The turning point in his career came in 1995, when Air-India Academy coach A K Bansal spotted him at an Open tournament in Nainital. A year's stint at the Air India Academy saw his blossom into an all-round player. All this hard work paid off as he was soon offered a job with Air-India.

Gagan's father Ajit Singh, who represented India at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics, has been the guiding force and makes it a point to watch every match his son plays. Said Gagan, "My father has motivated me to keep going on and take things in my stride." Gagan's performance for Air India in the Nehru tournament made his manager Neil Lobo comment, "This guy is a killer in the circle. He converted at least four quarter chances into goals in the Jawaharlal Nehru tournament. He is a kind of player India needs for the future - the 2000 Olympics."

his edition's Visitor(s) of the Month features 2 members of the Canadian Field Hockey Team.

Wayne Fernandes writes :

I am currently a member of the Canadian National Team and was curious as to the whereabouts of the Indian Team and their preparation for the 1998 World Cup.

Matt Peck writes :

I feel anger for what happened in Barcelona '95 when the Indian National Team fixed a game with Malaysia to keep some of my Canadian friends out of the Olympics. Please write back with a comment concerning this matter.

wenty Six sports associations of India with offices in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium assembled for a dues meeting chaired by Bhaskar Barua, secretary, Department of Youth Affairs and Sports. Among other offenders, the Indian Hockey Federation, housed in the National Stadium, hasn't paid rent since July 1997.

The 49th National senior women's hockey championship, scheduled to be held in Gorakhpur (UP) from January 5 to 15, 1998, has been postponed indefinitely. The postponement is due to the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections (in March!), according to a Indian Women's Hockey Federation release.

It is not exactly clear what the connection is between the women's nationals and the general elections - one can only presume that half of the women hockey players are being called for election duty, while the other half are standing for elections. Thank God, the India-Germany men's test series between January 5 - January 11, and the Indo-Pak hockey revival to be held in March, were not called off for the same reason.

he annual hockey Test series between Malaysia and India faces the prospect of being called off permanently following the Indians reluctance to host it for the last two years. The series was revived in 1995 after a lapse of seven years. It was last held in 1987.

In 1995, Malaysia hosted the five matches in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Penang as part of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics preparations. But the Indians sent their second team for the matches. India, who were to have hosted it in 1996, failed to find a suitable date. The MHF agreed to have the series postponed to 1997, but again, the IHF was unable to find a suitable date despite several options offered by Malaysia.

What has irked the MHF is the almost callous attitude of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) in trying to host the matches over the last two years. "First of all, they failed on several occasions to reply to the MHF's request for confirmation on the dates. When we finally contacted them, they failed to give any vaild reasons for not playing the matches. Each time, there was an excuse," said MHF secretary Satgunam. If the Indians are not keen, then they should tell us so. Since the Test series was revived, we have included it as part of our yearly programme. Now, we are not sure if the series should be continued," he added.

heck out the schedule for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, which is being held at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. All times given below are Malaysian time.

Date	Time	Opponent
Feb 28, 1998	18:05	India vs. Germany
Mar 1, 1998	19:35	India vs. New Zealand
Mar 3, 1998	18:05	India vs. England
Mar 4, 1998	17:35	India vs. Malaysia
Mar 6, 1998	16:05	India vs. Australia
Mar 8, 1998	19:05	Final

Now check out the schedule for the Indo-Pak hockey revival, as announced after a meeting between the secretaries of the IHF and PHF in Pakistan.

Date	Venue	Country
Feb 28, 1998	Peshawar	Pakistan
Mar 2, 1998	Rawalpindi
Mar 4, 1998	Lahore
Mar 7, 1998	Karachi
Mar 19, 1998	New Delhi	India
Mar 21, 1998	Amritsar
Mar 24, 1998	Hyderabad
Mar 26, 1998	Chennai

There is a clash between the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and the Pakistan leg of the Indo-Pak hockey revival? Can the head honchos of the IHF please explain? Is there something called credibility?

he IHF gets Rs. 5 lakh (half a million rupees) from Doordarshan for coverage of the finals of each Grade I tournament in the country. Instead of paying a share to the Organising Committees of these tournaments, the IHF promised to pay a prize money to be distributed among the top two teams of each tournament. But none has got money in two years. The Bengal Hockey Association, which runs the country's oldest tournament, Beighton Cup, paid money to winners from its own but never got anything from the IHF.

A majority of Grade I tournament organisers are upset with the IHF for not releasing the prize money it had promised. Some of the organisers got together and moved a joint petition to Doordarshan to demand a direct share than getting it routed through IHF. In case the organisers are not paid, they may not permit Doordarshan to cover their events. This will be a major setback for hockey, which even otherwise has been losing its popularity because of continuous dismal performances by the national team.

he AstroTurf-sponsored FIH World Hockey Highlights video is now in production and scheduled for release in January. The 1997 video offers top hockey from the six major FIH events in 1997, along with some late action from 1996.

Featured tournaments include the men’s and women’s World Cup Qualifiers, the men’s and women’s Champions Trophies and the men’s and women’s Junior World Cups. Also in the mix is the 1996 men’s Champions Trophy held in Chennai, India last December, which was a little too late to make the ’96 video!

World Hockey Highlights is once again being produced by API Television. In addition to hockey action on the pitch, this year’s production offers viewers interviews with top players and coaches. They are also treated to the local sights and sounds of the many cities – on four continents – that played host to top hockey this year.

The FIH highlights video is available for purchase at US $15 (£10 Sterling) for VHS format and US$20 (£12 Sterling) for NTSC format. Orders for the 1997 video should be sent to the FIH office in Brussels by fax to +32 2 219 2761, or by e-mail to FIH@FIHockey.org. The FIH also has available a number the 1995 and 1996 Hockey Highlights videos (PAL format only).

lympian Gavin Ferreira was a victim of the the cross-fire between Bombay Hockey Association (BHA) and the recently-formed rival body, Hockey Association of Mumbai (HAM). The star left-winger failed to make the Bombay squad to the Federation Cup which commenced on December 5 at Hyderabad.

BHA Secretary K. L. Passi declared that clubs not affiliated to the BHA could not send players to the trials which concluded on Monday. Mahindras and Western Railway, both Super League outfits, have not renewed affiliation with BHA. This crisis took its toll on talented left-half Calistus D'Souza (Western Railway), Rajinder Singh, Nanjappa, Sridhar Murthy, Farouq Ummer and Junior World Cup star goalkeeper Jagdish Ponnappa (all Mahindras) who assisted Bombay teams at the National Championships and National Games earlier in 1997.

The Indian Hockey Federation had reportedly issued a directive to BHA and HAM, urging both sides to mend fences in order to send the best possible team to the Federation Cup. The IHF also reportedly instructed that HAM executive members Olympians Joaquim Carvalho, Merwyn Fernandes and Gurbux Singh be inducted onto the panel of selectors. The BHA, in its infinte wisdom, ignored the directive.

"I am aware of the crisis Mumbai hockey finds itself in, and that Mahindras along with Western Railway had chosen to disaffiliate themselves from BHA," Ferreira said. "I naturally had to speak to my employers Mahindras about it as it's under their patronage that I play hockey. But Mahindras themselves did not receive written communication from BHA. So there was no way I could have attended the trials," Ferreira explained.