ndia regained the men's hockey gold in the XIII Asian Games after 32 long years. The ONE Asian Games gold that all of India has been waiting for such a long time finally came home. After all, none of the 16 players in the team was even born when India won the Asian Games gold for the first time in 1966.

In its road to the championship, India had the following results:

Pool Stage	Date	Result
	December 9 December 11 December 13 December 14	beat Singapore 9-0 beat Bangladesh 7-0 beat China 2-1 beat South Korea 2-1
Knockout	Date	Result
Semi-Final Final	December 17 December 19	beat Japan 3-1 beat South Korea 1 (4) - 1 (2)

In the final held at the Queen Sirikit 60th anniversary stadium, India defeated holders South Korea 5-3 in a nerve-wracking tie-break duel. The teams were locked 1-1 after 70 minutes of regular time and 15 minutes of extra-time. Korea had taken the lead in the 6th minute through a penalty corner by Yeo Woon-Kon. India hit back through a penalty corner in the 22nd minute, with Dhanraj Pillai pushing the ball in on the rebound.

In the tie-break, Ashish Ballal sizzled to stop two strokes, while Ramandeep Singh, Mohammed Riaz, Baljeet Singh Dhillon and Mukesh Kumar all scored for India.

It was in the Thai capital that India had won its only other Asian Games hockey gold. That was way back in 1966, when India beat arch-rivals Pakistan 1-0. Barefoot right winger Balbir Singh Grewal (Railways) had struck the winner from a near zero angle against Pakistan

India gets a direct entry into the Sydney Olympic Games, and possibly a place in the 2002 World Cup too if the new format comes into operation. For the 1988, 1992 and the 1996 Olympics, India had to suffer the ignominy of have to qualify for the Olympics.

The victorious Indian team ran a lap of honour after the final. The tricolour did not flutter as proudly and Jana Gana Mana not sound as sweet as they did on that wonderful night in Bangkok.

he Indian women's team lost to top-rated South Korea to finish with the silver medal in the Asian Games. This was the fourth consecutive gold medal for South Korea (1986 - 1998), while India got back to the medals for the first time after their gold (1982) and bronze (1986).

In the competition, India had the following results:

Pool Stage	Date	Result
	December 8 December 10 December 12 December 13 December 15 December 16	beat Thailand 13-0 beat China 2-1 beat Uzbekistan 2-1 lost to South Korea 0-5 beat Kazakhastan 6-1 drew with Japan 1-1
Knockout	Date	Result
Final	December 18	lost to South Korea 1-2

In the final, India drew first blood in the 27th minute through a field goal by skipper Pritam Thakaran, but could not prevent the Koreans from converting one penalty corner in each half.

The Koreans got the equaliser a minute before half-time when Tae Seon Kim converted their team's sixth penalty corner. The winning goal came in the 50th minute through captain Seung Shin Oh, who converted the seventh corner.

The Indian women thus capped off a fairly successful year, where they participated in the Utrecht World Cup, finished 4th in the Commonwealth Games and now 2nd in the Asian Games.

hanraj Pillai : totally emotional and delirious, "This is the greatest moment of my life." His chest had to be massaged so that he could even speak coherently. He added, "This victory is for all mothers, whose sons are out there playing hockey."

Ashish Ballal : "I am proud of my country, my team, my captain, my coach and my parents. This is the greatest moment of my life."

Maharaj Krishan Kaushik, Head Coach : "Preparations for the Sydney Olympics must start forthwith, and proper planning should go into making India a winning team at Sydney. The fitness level of our players needs to go up by 50%. We still have a lot to do in defending and taking penalty corners."

Mir Ranjan Negi, Assistant Coach : "It is time the IHF adopted the BCCI approach and paid a match fee to players for every Test series and international tournaments."

And the rest ...

K. P. S. Gill : Did an impromput bhangra. Sacked coach Kaushik, captain Dhanraj, goalkeeper Ballal, and 4 other veterans from the Indo-Pak series, under the pretext of giving them rest. How come a coach also needs 'rest.' How come IHF officials do not need 'rest' - preferably for ever!

Cedric D'Souza : I firmly believe that the present Indian team is among the top four in the world. A point to note is that the team composition has been the same for the last couple of years, with only four changes in totality since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Ajitpal Singh : The euphoria of victory should not cloud our vision as a tough task lies ahead of us. After every major victory, we tend to push our weaknesses under the carpet. I hope this time we are careful. Hockey in India should get its due place now that we have won."

he Indian team comprised the following:

Goal-keepers: Aashish Ballal and A B Subbaiah. Full backs: Dilip Tirkey, Lazarus Barla and Anil Aldrin. Half backs: Ramandeep Singh, Thirumalvalavan, Baljit Saini and Sandeep Somesh. Forwards: Mohammed Riaz, Baljit Dhillon, L Prabhakaran, Samir Dad, Mukesh Kumar, Sabu Varkey and Dhanraj Pillai.

India's golden boys got the following cash awards:

Donor	Amount	Recipient
IHF	Rs. 1 Lakh Each	To the 16 players To the 2 coaches To the manager and doctor
Atal Bihari Vajpayee	Rs. 5 Lakhs	To the entire team
ONGC	Rs. 5 Lakhs	To the entire team
Akhtar Rizvi (MP)	Rs. 5 Lakhs	To the entire team
Bangkok Millionaire	Rs. 1.25 Lakhs	To the entire team
Indian Olympic Association	Rs. 1 Lakh	To the entire team
Pune Marathon Trust	Rs. 1 Lakh	Dhanraj Pillai
Sports Authority of AP	Rs. 1 Lakh	Mukesh Kumar
Government of Punjab	Rs. 1 Lakh Each	Ramandeep Singh Baljit Singh Dhillon Baljit Singh Saini

n an apparent case of gender discrimination, or maybe due to the importance attached to winning the gold vs. winning the silver, the Indian men's team earned the adulation of the nation, while the national women's team had to pick on the leftovers.

While the IHF gave each men's team member Rs. 1 lakh, the IWHF gave each women's team member a paltry Rs. 10,000. This sum was so measly that the IHF was forced to contribute a matching amount of Rs. 10,000 each. While it still looked like pocket change compared to Rs. 1 lakh, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit announced another matching contribution of Rs. 10,000 each.

Apart from total lack of media attention, the women's team were made to stay at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, while the men were put up in a luxurious 5-star hotel.

The Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal announced incentives for the Punjabi men in the national team but did not think the same about the Punjabi women in the national team.

The Indian Olympic Association announced a cash award of Rs. 75,000 to the women's team. However, that was consistent with its policy of giving fixed pre-declared amounts to the gold and silver winning teams.

One happy member of the women's team is Nidhi Khullar, who will be getting married to star winger Mukesh Kumar. Incidentally, Nidhi also plays as the outside right. The couple plan to marry in January next.

he Indian contingent from the Bangkok Asian Games, including the men’s hockey team which struck gold after 32 years, staged a sit-in dharna at Mumbai airport on arrival from Bangkok, as they were made to wait for 3 hours squatting on the floor of the airport before the Indian Airlines personnel could arrange for their accommodation.

The 124-strong contingent - including the men’s and women’s hockey squads - underwent a torrid time with the airlines people late in coming to their rescue. The harried IA personnel managed to find accommodation at a nearby five star hotel at 1:30 am, long after the flight had landed at 10 pm.

A visibly angry Dhanraj Pillay, the hockey team captain, took out his ire on the newsmen and TV crew, waiting outside for nearly four hours. Later, he apologised to the reporters at the hotel explaining the “callous” attitude of the IA officials towards the contingent had led to his outburst.

Pillay said: "We have won the gold after 32 years and this is the way we are treated. In our team, there are as many as seven Indian Airlines players. Even the hotel did not receive us with the traditional Indian aarthi" he said.

Hockey team coach M.K. Kaushik wondered whether the same sort of reception would have awaited had the cricket team landed. “We do well, win a gold after such a long time, but find that things are as usual,” he lamented.

The hotel Leela Kempinsi, refused to allow photographs to be clicked inside the premises. Pillai had to speak to the journalists outside the hotel. The final word was said by Dhanraj Pillai, "Nobody would have dared to put up the cricketers with the inconvenience that we had to undergo. I will never let my son play hockey, at least for India."

he showman, the saviour, the striker par excellence.

Over 5000 fans jammed the roads leading to Lohegaon airport to receive their returning hero Dhanraj Pillai. Fans thronged the airport lobby while a still larger crowd stood outside braving the drop in temperature.

As Dhanraj made his entry into the general lounge, petals were showered on the hero and shouts of Dhanraj Pillai Zindabad filled the air. His mother Andal, father Lali Pillai, sister Sunita, brothers Ganesh, Ramesh and Vijay Pillai and his sister-in-law Kavita (wife of Ganesh) were among the first to receive him.

After the traditional arathi, one could barely get a glimpse of the hero, as the turbulent crowd which budged inside the airport lounge surrounded him and he slowly drifted towards the maroon Tata Sumo waiting outside.

The Indian skipper's mother could not hold back her tears as she hailed her son: "My son's hard work has finally paid off and I thank the Almighty for the golden moment. He called me up after the final. I could not express my feelings, but those words he spoke to me were priceless,'' enthused the 52-year-old mother.

Dhanraj's mother and father, along with their daughter Sunita and son Vijay had watched the final together. "Our dad who is a workaholic had taken a half-day holiday to watch the match,'' said Sunita. "All the boys played well, especially the keeper,'' Dhanraj's mother said, closing with "Romba Nandri thambi" (Thank you very much, my son).

Undoubtedly, this could be the first time the police have come across such reception for a sportsman other than the Indian cricketers in the city. Even the airport authorities were taken by surprise, as one of them commented. "We have witnessed big crowds, but not the one like this."

The illuminated streets of Khadki from where Dhanraj hails, welcomed the hero as he paraded the streets in his Victory Chariot, amidst applauses from people who had gathered on both sides of the road.

This is the first hockey gold won by a Pune hockey player after independence. Skipper Dhanraj Pillai joins the ranks of the late Joe Philips and Babu Nimal, two more Khadkians, who were part of the 1936 Berlin Olympics gold medal squad.

Pillai carried the Indian flag at the opening ceremony marchpast. He also ended up as the Asian Games tournament's leading goal scorer, slamming in 11 goals, and was selected Player of the Tournament. This was the third consecutive Asiad for Dhanraj, who has won 2 Silver (1990, 1994) and 1 Gold (1998) in the Asian Games.

oth Dhanraj and Ashish Ballal, two of India's heroes at the Bangkok Asiad make no secret of their utter contempt for Indian hockey officials.

Dhanraj Pillay was humiliated in front of the entire team by the IHF secretary Jyoti Kumaran at half-time of the Commonwealth Games semi-final against Malaysia in September. Jyoti, ignoring the spectators and officials nearby, lashed out at a stunned Dhanaraj for missing easy openings in the match, which India ultimately lost by a last-minute goal by Mirnawan Nawawi.

"Okay, I'll sit, you play," Dhanaraj retorted. Jyoti, who has never played hockey at any level, backed off.

But Dhanraj was clearly shocked by the official's behaviour, and even contemplated throwing in the towel before the match resumed. Dhanraj changed his mind after a quiet word with coach Maharaj Kishen Kaushik on the team's return home amid the hope that he can finally win a gold medal for India.

The same Jyoti Kumaran was the first to run onto the turf and hug Dhanraj after India's gold medal game. Even a politician will not be so hypocritical.

"Indian hockey officials are worse than garbage," said Ashish. "We won the gold for the country despite them. I hope I have proved to everyone that I can do it."

Ashish's spectacular saves against Yoo Moon-ki and Jeong Jin-dong gave India a 4-2 win in the shootout after both teams were locked 1-1 in extra-time of a furiously fast-paced final.

Even M. K. Kaushik, coach of the victorious indian men’s hockey squad, said that he was not keen to continue with his job. "I had given some plans which they (IHF officials) have not implemented. A lot of things have been promised but not delivered," Kaushik, a former winger said. 

Hockey officials are not alone in ruining Indian sports. Boxer Dingko Singh, an orphan from the north-eastern state of Manipur, was omitted from the original squad by the government.

When Dingko's name was forwarded for clearance, a senior Sports Ministry bureaucrat asked boxing officials why they wanted to "disgrace the country" by taking Dingko to Bangkok.

The gutsy 20-year-old proved all stupid, petty-minded and self-serving bureaurcrats wrong by winning India its lone boxing gold medal. Amen.

he countries that have participated in all 11 editions of Asian Games hockey are India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Japan.

The maximum hockey gold medals won in the Asiad is 7 by Pakistan. All those seven times, Pakistan beat India in the finals. Of the seven golds, four came in succession - 1970 (Bangkok), 1974 (Teheran), 1978 (Bangkok) and 1982 (New Delhi).

The South Korean women's hockey team is the other team to win four successive gold medals - 1986 (Seoul), 1990 (Beijing), 1994 (Hiroshima) and 1998 (Bangkok).

The highest goals scored by a team in a match is 17 which Pakistan slammed against Bangladesh in the 1978 Bangkok Asiad. Present hockey coach Shahnaz Sheikh scored seven goals in that match.

The highest goals scored in a tournament is 42 by Pakistan in the 1990 Beijing Asian Games. They conceded only 5 goals during that tournament.

The maximum number of hat-tricks scored by players of a country also belongs to Pakistan - Munir Dar (1958), Abdul Waheed (1962, 1966), Abdul Rashid (1974), Shahnaz Sheikh (1978), Hasan Sardar (1982), Iftikhar Ahmed (1986), Tahir Zaman (1990) and Kamran Ashraf (1994).

The highest individual goal scorer in the Asian Games is Abdul Waheed, who scored 17 goals (including a double hat trick) in the 1962 Jakarta Asiad. Abdul Waheed, with 25 goals, is the also the leading individual scorer across multiple Asian Games.

The record for the maximum number of penalty corner goals in a game is held by Muneer Dar, who scored 5 goals against South Korea in the 1958 Tokyo Asiad.

With such an impressive Asian Games legacy, Pakistan was the disappointment of the 1998 Asiad, where for the second consecutive Games Pakistan finished 3rd. Relegation to the bronze medal for Pakistan will send the once-mighty team to Osaka, Japan (March 9 - 19, 2000), to play in the Sydney Olympics qualifier. This is a humiliation that Pakistan has never suffered in the past.

ot the IHF elections, but the AHF elections.

The Asian Hockey Federation elections were held during the Bangkok Asian Games. Bitter rivals India and Pakistan joined hands in a rare show of friendship and put up K. P. S. Gill for the post of President, and Col. Mudassar Asghar for the post of Secretary.

Gill was pitted against incumbent Sultan Azlan Shah, while Asghar was contesting against incumbent Dato P. Alagendra.

Pakistan decided to go against the Sultan, as during the last AHF elections in Hiroshima four years ago, he gave his casting vote to Alagendra following a 16-16 deadlock with Asghar.

Ever since the 1994 electoral defeat, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has turned down all invitations from Malaysia to participate in the annual Azlan Shah tournament, which is organised on a grand scale. Similarly, in the last Champions Trophy in Lahore, the PHF did not bother to invite officials from Malaysia. Rumour were also floating that Pakistan contrived to draw its last league match with Japan 1-1 to ensure that Malaysia gets eliminated from the semi-finals.

For the 1998 elections, the Malaysians had done their homework well, for Sultan Azlan Shah, who has ruled Asian hockey for the last 16 years, got elected for a fresh 4-year term. Both Sultan Azlan Shah and Alagendra got elected by 24-8 margins.

"We did not get the support we were promised," a Pakistani official said. "We learnt a lot of new things here," he said, without elaborating.

Gill, however, retained his position as one of the five vice presidents of the 32-member AHF.

rom 1946 to 1960, Mr. Naval Tata was the President of the IHF. Under his stewardship, India won 3 Olympics Golds (1948-56) and 1 Silver (1960). After a long gap, a Tata representative has been appointed to a post at the IHF. Mr. Robert Lawrence, who is associated with Tata Enterprises, has been named Director, Coordination of IHF.

Before the Indian team's departure for Bangkok, the Tatas sponsored their stay in Chennai by accommodating the players at the Connemara Hotel of the Taj Group. Mr. Lawrence pinpointed the interest shown by Mr. Krishna Kumar, Chairman, Taj Group in the project of sponsoring Indian hockey.

With Mumbai-based Mahindras closing down their hockey team, Dhanraj Pillai is planning to join the Tata Sports Club. Ex-Mahindra teammate Gavin Ferreira has already joined the Tatas.

The Tatas are proposing a full-fledged hockey academy which will take shape early next year, and are currently looking for a coach.

six-nation hockey tournament has been scheduled for Dubai from March 5 to 16, 1999. The tournament is being organised by the UAE Hockey Committee, with cooperation from Dubai-based Global Sports International, a private sports management and promotion company.

Anis Usman Zuberi, a spokesman for the tournament said, "We are keen to make the tournament a lucrative and attractive one, and are proposing a winners purse of US$20,000." Besides cash prizes, he admitted that appearance fees will be paid to the participating teams Pakistan, India, Germany, South Korea, Malaysia and Australia.  

According to rough estimates, the UAE hockey committee will be spending a budget of US$400,000 on organising the tournament. The artificial surface and stadium with a present seating capacity of 6,000 is being readied well in time for the tournament.

he FIH Council has approved several changes in the composition and format of world hockey tournaments, both for men and women. The aim of these changes, as recommended by the Global Competition Task Force, were as follows:

• allow lesser-developed hockey playing countries to compete on the world level
• establish a marketable cycle of world level major tournaments
• encourage a wider variety of host countries for FIH events

An essential element of tournament hosting conditions has been changed, which will result in lower costs for hosts, and will lead to an increase in the number of bidding countries. Host countries are no longer responsible for paying the costs of full board and accommodation for team contingents of 20 people. Participating countries will be responsible for covering their own costs in this respect. However, FIH will still get its 'cut' from the organising nation. For example, a country hosting the Champions Trophy has to pay the FIH a whopping 1,15,000 Swiss Francs as 'hosting fees'.

In addition to achieving these goals, the newly adopted programme also provides gender equity and addresses youth development. A bi-annual under-18 Boys and Girls Hockey Festival has been established. India will host the first under-18 hockey festival for boys.

he men's and women's World Cup will continue to be played every four years, but with the number of teams participating increasing to 16 (from 12). The qualification and competition format will also change.

Qualification for the World Cup - both men and women - will be based on the following:

• Host Nation (1)
• Defending Champion (1)
• Continental Cup Winners (5)
• Next Highest Ranked Teams from Previous Olympic Games (2)
• World Cup Qualifier (7)

Previously, the World Cup was played in two pools of six teams in a round-robin format, followed by classification matches. The new format will see:

First Round : 4 pools of 4 teams in a round-robin format

Second Round : 4 pools of 4 teams each. Two pools will have the top two teams of the first round pools, while the other two pools will have the bottom two teams of the first round pools.

Third Round: Cross-pool classification matches, followed by final placing matches (1-16).

The duration of the World Cup will be 13 days, and would be conducted on two identical fields of play.

The Junior World Cup will follow the same format and duration as the senior event.

he FIH's premier annual men's event, the Champions Trophy, will now also be an annual women's event (currently the women's is played every two years). In addition, a new division - the 'Champions Challenge' - has been created to allow the opportunity for promotion to the Champions Trophy.

The qualification criteria for the Champions Trophy will remain the same. In the year following a World Cup or Olympic Games, the six qualifiers are:

• Host Nation
• Defending Champion
• Olympic Champion
• World Champion
• Next Highest Ranked Teams from the more recent of Olympic Games / World Cup

In the following year, the last placed team will be dropped from the field, but instead of being replaced by the next highest ranked World Cup or Olympic team, it will be replaced by the winner of the Champions Challenge.

The teams qualifying for the Champions Challenge will be the host and the five best ranked World Cup or Olympic teams not already qualified for the Champions Trophy. The Champions Challenge will take place every two years with the winner being promoted to the Champions Trophy.

On a scheduling note, it has also been decided that in a World Cup or an Olympic year, the Champions Trophy will be held prior to the World Cup or Olympic Games, preferably, approximately three months before.

Pakistan has won the right to host the Champions Trophy once every 3 years. The next tournament in Pakistan will be held in 2001.

he Indian Olympic Association recently announced a cash prize of Rs. 25,000 for the GOLD MEDAL winners of the Kuala Lumpur Asian Games.

On that same day, the all-powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India announced a cash award of Rs. 1 lakh to each cricketer for merely taking part in the Commonwealth Games. This, when the Indian cricket team did not even qualify for the semi-finals.

So which sport would you like your kid to take up?

ndia and Pakistan will play a 9 match hockey Test series in February 1999, with India hosting the first phase of 4 matches before travelling across the border to play the remaining 5. The numbers will reverse every year with India hosting 5 and Pakistan 4 in 2000.

Every match of the series will be decided, even if it fails to produce a result in full and extra time. The number of matches have been fixed at 9 to ensure that the series produced a clear verdict.

Each visiting team would be allowed a contingent of 22 members, comprising 18 players and 4 officials. The FIH would appoint neutral umpires for the series.

At meetings held in New Delhi on November 21 and 22, the President and Secretary of the PHF, Akhtar Rasool and Mudassar Asghar, finalised the details of the series with their Indian counterparts, K. P. S. Gill and Jyothikumaran.

The 1999 series will be held from Feb 2 to 25, beginning with the Indian leg from Feb 2 to 11. Delhi, Bhopal, Hyderabad and Chennai will be the venues for the Indian leg, while Lahore will host the fifth and the ninth Tests, with Karachi, Peshawar and Rawalpindi being the other venues.

The schedule of the 9-Test Indo-Pak hockey series is as follows:

India	Date	Venue
	February 3 February 5 February 8 February 10	New Delhi Bhopal Hyderabad Chennai
Pakistan	Date	Venue
	February 16 February 18 February 20 February 22 February 24	Lahore Karachi Peshawar Rawalpindi Lahore

Following the Indo-Pak series, the two teams will clash again in the six-nation Dubai tournament starting from March 4 to 12. The other teams in this event will be South Korea, Germany, Australia and Malaysia. This is billed to be the biggest ever tournament for Dubai.

Next on the Indian team's itinerary would be the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, slated for early April in Kuala Lumpur   

f the Calcutta soccer league can have African players, why not hockey. Clement Omany and Eric Odingo of the Kenyan National Team are looking for a club to play league hockey in India. The hockey club has to assist them in accomodation, daily expenses, travel expenses and player allowances. If they can acquire a part-time job while assisting the club, that would be a bonus.

Clement Omany is a goalkeeper with the Aga Khan Sports Club in Kenya. Aged 25, he has played 92 internationals for Kenya. His major assignments included the Commonwealth Games (1998), World Cup Pre-Qualifier and the Africa Cup (1996) and the Indira Gandhi Gold Cup (1994, 1992, 1991). He was voted the Most Valuable Player of the 1995-96 Kenya Hockey League.

Eric Odingo is a forward / utility half with the Aga Khan Sports Club in Kenya. Aged 27, he has played 102 internationals for Kenya. His major assignments included the Commonwealth Games (1998), World Cup Pre-Qualifier and the Africa Cup (1996) and the Indira Gandhi Gold Cup (1994, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989). He was voted the Most Valuable Player of the 1997-98 Kenya Hockey League.

The players can be reached at: P. O. BOX 59447, Nairobi, Kenya (East Africa). Their fax number is 254-02-243890, and their telephone number is 254-02-335898.

n Australian who will be living in India next year is this edition's Visitor of the Month. Richard Francis of the Australian Trade Commission, had the following query:

"I am coming to live in New Delhi next year and would like to know what levels of men's hockey are played in Delhi? Is hockey a social sport? When does the hockey season start? What hockey clubs are located in Delhi? What is the approximate cost of joining a club?

How many artificial turfs are there in Delhi? What sports facilities exist in the stadia? I will be living in the Chanakyapuri area. What facilities are close? Warm regards, Richard Francis."

wenty three top sportspersons were honoured by the Delhi Sports Journalists Association (DSJA) at a function held in the capital on November 29.

Sunil Gavaskar honoured Pritam Thakran as the Best Sportswoman for 1996. Half-back Ramandeep Singh was adjudged the Best Hockey Player of 1996.

Inam-ur-Rehman, a hockey striker par excellence, provided the boys from Chhotu Ram Zamindar School (Sonepat, Haryana) a moment to cherish by presenting them the Best Team's Trophy for 1996. CRZ School's long-standing hockey programme has seen them make giant strides during the last few years.

Bishen Singh Bedi presented the Promising Junior Sportsman Trophy for 1997 to hockey international Gagan Ajit Singh. Gagan has followed in the footsteps of his father and 1976 Olympian Ajit Singh to emerge as Indian hockey’s future hope.

Ashok Kumar, the dazzling forward of yesteryears, presented the Best Hockey Player Award of 1997 to Rajiv Mishra, who had spearheaded the Indian campaign in the silver medal winning show at last year's Junior World Cup at Milton Keynes.

he Australian Women's Hockeyroos received the 1998 Outstanding Sports Team Award at a nationally televised event in Melbourne, Australia.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation presents the awards after voting by representatives of sporting bodies throughout Australia. Alyson Annan and Juliet Haslam accepted the award on behalf of the team. Australian International Hockey umpire Don Prior won the Outstanding Sporting Official Award at the same gala event.

The Hockeyroos won their Outstanding Sporting Team Award from two other nominated, internationally recognised, sporting teams. They were the Australian Rugby Union Wallabies which won the Bledisloe Cup from New Zealand in a 3-0 whitewash and the Australian Women's Netball team which took the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.

In case you were wondering, the Australian cricket team was not even nominated.

he victorious Indian hockey team which won the gold medal at Bangkok after 32 long years, is to seek the blessings of Lord Venkateswara in Tirupati to repeat its winning performance in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, according to MP Ganesh, executive director SAI, South Centre.

The members of the team, who had visited Tirumala before proceeding to Bangkok, had plans to have darshan of the deity again sometime during January.

"In fact, Dhanraj and others wanted to go straightaway to Tirupati but because of the felicitation functions in Delhi, we had to defer it,'' said Jothi Kumaran. "However, we went to the Balaji temple at Ramakrishna Puram and offered prayers,'' he added.