Seeta Gusain	Mamata Kharab

n what was an improbable sequence of victories in an upset-filled tournament, India beat England 3-2 off a golden goal to win the Commonwealth Games women's hockey tournament.

The English and Indian women's hockey teams have been playing each other since 1953, and England has never lost to India in nearly half a century of play. India, who are Asian Games and Asia Cup silver medallists, chose the Commonwealth championship game to record their historic first ever victory over world nos. 5 England. This is the second consecutive time that England has lost in the Commonwealth Games women's hockey final.

This is the first time any Indian hockey team has won a medal at the Commonwealth Games. This was the first victory outside Asia of the Indian women's hockey team.

Earlier, world nos. 17 India upset world nos. 6 New Zealand 2-1 to storm into the final. In the other semi-final, England shocked Australia 2-1 to earn the right to meet India.

In a prior quarter-final match against South Africa, it seemed all over for the Indian women's team. Going into the game, South Africa had scored 16 goals to India's 3 in their 3 matches. And by half-time, South Africa had already scored 3 goals with none scored by India.

But in an amazing comeback, India scored 3 goals in the second half, including two in the last 8 minutes of the game, to first tie the game. Then, Jyoti Kullu scored a golden goal, the first golden goal of the entire tournament, to steer India into the semifinals.

India has an ongoing 3-game winning streak against South Africa. In the inaugural women's Champions Challenge held in February 2002 in Johannesburg, India beat South Africa 1-0 (on Feb 10) and again 1-0 (on Feb 17) to deny South Africa the bronze medal. This latest 4-3 victory in the Commonwealth Games now denied South Africa a place in the semi-finals. This was the second consecutive time that South Africa failed to make it to the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Games women's hockey tournament.

In its road to the gold medal, India's match results were as follows:

Stage	Date	Result	Goal Scorer - India
League	July 26	beat Canada 1-0	Suman Bala Saini (44 m)
	July 28	lose to New Zealand 1-3	Jyoti Sunita Kullu (16 m)
	July 29	draw with England 1-1	Suman Bala Saini (23 m)
Quarters	July 31	beat South Africa 4-3 (GG)	Pritam Rani Siwach (46 m) Jyoti Sunita Kullu (62 m, 77 m) Suman Bala Saini (65 m)
Semis	Aug 1	beat New Zealand 2-1	Jyoti Sunita Kullu (34 m) Mamata Kharab (62 m)
FINAL	Aug 3	beat England 3-2 (GG)	Mamata Kharab (21 m, 78 m) Seeta Gusain (30 m)

Beating strong powers like South Africa, world nos. 6 New Zealand and world nos. 5 England bodes well for the young Indian team. May the Indian women's hockey players also get the recognition, support and incentives that are usually given to their male counterparts.

The members of India's gold medal winning team were as follows:

Goalkeepers: Tingoleima Chanu, Helen Mary

Full backs: Amandeep Kaur, Suman Bala Saini, Kanti Baa

Half-backs: Seeta Gussain, Sumrai Tete (left-half), Suraj Lata Devi (captain), Masira Surin

Forwards: Pritam Rani Siwach, Manjinder Kaur, Sanggai Ibemhal Chanu (right-out), Mamata Kharab, Jyoti Sunita Kullu, Pakpi Devi, Saba Karim Anjum

Standbys: Deepika Murthy, Pushpa Pradhan, Manju and Adline Kerketta

f you thought that the Commonwealth Games men's hockey competition was going to showcase the best talent in the former British Commonwealth, you would be sorely mistaken. Instead, the tournament organisation committee, with the connivance of the FIH, has decided to get into the charity business.

How else can you explain the presence of minnows like Barbados and Wales, at the expense of last edition's finalist Malaysia and last edition's semi-finalist India.

Look at the results suffered by Barbados - a 1-10 thrashing at the hands of South Africa, a 0-13 mauling in the hands of South Africa, a Commonwealth record 1-20 loss to Australia and a 0-7 loss to Wales to finally put an end to their misery. 50 goals conceded in 4 matches by Barbados! Is this hockey or a charity contest?

There was absolutely no logic in having a Commonwealth region for the Americas (consisting of just 1 country Canada), and another Commonwealth region for the Caribbean (West Indies). By that token, why couldn't we have a Commonwealth region called South Asia, and a Commonwealth region called Southeast Asia?

A fairer policy would have been to choose 1 country between Canada and Barbados, and 1 country between India and Malaysia. That way, you would have preserved the diversity of the competition without sacrificing quality.

Ultimately, the Commonwealth Games men's hockey competition got reduced to a 5-nation hockey tournament, with Barbados, Wales and Canada making up the numbers on the basis of geography, not on the basis of hockey.

Australian coach Barry Dancer commented, “I think it’s pretty disappointing that the qualification process means that India and Malaysia, who are two of the top 10 teams in the world, can’t be here.”

Dancer said the competition in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 was enhanced by the presence of both India and Malaysia. “I think we should have a rule that allows the best teams in the Commonwealth to play.”

No wonder some Indian fans demanded a refund on their tickets, saying they were deprived of watching quality hockey.

"Whoever made these rules is an idiot," said Manchester resident Avtar Singh, angry that he and thousands of Asian immigrants in this industrial city were deprived of a mouth-watering clash between India and Pakistan.

"We waited in the hope that the organisers would finally see sense and take India in at the last minute. Now I want my money back, and I know many of my friends do too," he said.

If there is one way to turn off potential hockey fans, it is by having matchups like Australia vs. Barbados. In contrast, an India vs. Pakistan matchup at Manchester would have triggered a huge amount of fan interest and media coverage. 

The FIH has failed miserably to replicate the fantastic fan turnout and high television ratings of the 1998 Commonwealth Games hockey competition in Kuala Lumpur.

There is only one way to set things right at the FIH - get rid of the Eurocentric old bags at the helm of world hockey, and increase the number of young talented administrators from the non-European continents.

India's Dynamic Duo of Dhanraj and Mukesh - Photo courtesy The Hindu

he 80th All-India Madras Cricket Club -Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament was held at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Chennai, from July 11 to 20. The tournament was inaugurated by Mr. M. M. Venkatachalam, Director of the Murugappa Group.

Going by the team composition, you can say that hockey in India is being sustained by the public sector companies. 8 of the 12 teams in the competition were from the public sector viz. Air India, All- India Customs and Central Excise, Bharat Petroleum, Indian Airlines, Indian Oil, Indian Post and Telegraph, Indian Railways and Oil and Natural Gas Commission. Where are the private sector giants like Tatas, Birlas, Mahindras and Reliance in the field of hockey?

Back to the tournament at hand - Indian Airlines and Karnataka made it to the final, with the following match results:

Stage	Date	Karnataka	Date	Indian Airlines
League	July 11	beat ONGC 3-2	July 13	beat Indian Oil 4-2
	July 14	beat Air India 3-2	July 15	beat Indian Posts 7-3
Quarters	July 16	beat Indian Railways 4-0	July 17	beat Bengal 2-0
Semis	July 19	beat ONGC 2-1	July 19	beat Indian Oil 3-1

In the final played on July 20, Indian Airlines regained the Muruguppa Gold Cup by defeating Karnataka 3-1. The winners, who had an impressive lineup of 5 Olympians (Ashish Ballal, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammad Riaz, Dileep Tirkey and Lajarus Barla), and 1 contract player (Dhanraj Pillai), led 2-1 at half-time.

Dhanraj Pillai, Virender Singh and Ravinder Singh scored for Airlines, while Karnataka's goal came off a Sandeep Michael - Arjun Halappa move.

Dhanraj Pillai was declared the Man of the Final and also the Forward of the Tournament. Arjun Halappa (Karnataka) was selected the Midfielder of the Tournament, while Anurag Raghuvanshi (ONGC) was selected as the Defender of the Tournament.

Champions Indian Airlines won Rs. 60,000 while Karnataka had to settle for the runners-up prize of Rs. 40,000.

The final was telecast live by Doordarshan (Sports Channel), with the telecast being sponsored by Servo Indian Oil.

Stick2Hockey.com reports that the broadcast quality not upto standard. Umpire Satinder Sharma handed out the yellow card 3 times, but none of the incidents leading to them were shown. The awards ceremony was not shown (unlike cricket's award ceremonies and post-award sound bites from the players) and instead was replaced by a repeat telecast of a  weightlifting tournament from last year!

ahindra's loss is Indian Airlines's gain. Khel Ratna Dhanraj Pillai, who toiled in the wilderness as a junior officer with Mahindra and Mahindra (Mumbai) for the last 9 years, will join Indian Airlines (Delhi) as an assistant manager with a five-figure salary (> Rs. 20,000 per month). The switch was considered inevitable ever since Mahindras decided to disband its hockey team and instead concentrate on football.

Dhanraj had twice earlier played for Indian Airlines on a contract basis - in the 2001 Raghavendra Itigi Cup in Bangalore, and in the just concluded Muruguppa Gold Cup in Chennai. 

Airlines' coach Merwyn Fernandes told Asian Age that the papers for hiring Dhanraj have been forwarded to the Indian Airlines Sports Control Board. Though the board has a policy of recruiting only young players, they made an exception in the case of Dhanraj Pillai. 

Harinder Singh, coach of the national u-21 side, as well as a talent scout and the manager of the Indian Airlines team, is believed to have masterminded Dhanraj's recruitment.

Dhanraj Pillai has also announced that he will retire from international hockey after the Busan Asian Games in September/October, where India will be defending its title. He will continue to play for either foreign clubs or his new employer Indian Airlines.

"I would like to retire happily, without any regrets, after the coming Asian Games in Korea," Pillai said.

"I am still receiving offers from clubs, especially European clubs, asking me to play for their teams.. but let's see," said Pillai who has been the central figure in almost all the Indian victories in the recent past, including the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok.

hanraj Pillai does not have his own website. Neither does Sohail Abbas of Pakistan. However, the first ever player-specific hockey website is alive and kicking at vaninaoneto.com. Vanina Oneto is the sharp-shooting forward of Argentina's women's hockey team.

The website is not in English, but in Argentina's national language Spanish. The website has Flash animations,  background music and photo galleries. The site is sponsored by Nike and a private company. 

Vanina even made it to the 2002 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. This is what Sports Illustrated wrote:

Vanina Oneto has helped turn hockey into the women's equivalent of soccer in Argentina. During the Sydney Olympics, las Leonas (the Lionesses) roused Argentinians out of bed at 4 in the morning for live telecasts of their games.

Oneto is known for displaying her feelings on the field. She and the rest of las Leonas screamed, cried and rejoiced at each pivotal play, stirring their country to feel every emotion with them. Somewhere along the way, field hockey in Argentina was transformed from a sport that little girls play to one that grown up men watch.

When the Australian national team visited last April for a 4-match series, 18,000 fans showed up with drums in their hands and songs in their throats. Vanina has become accustomed to police escorts, adoring fans who approach her on the streets, and the shooting of television endorsements. 

f an Argentinian hockey fan can read hockey match reports in Spanish, and if a hockey fan in the Netherlands can read match reports in Dutch, why can't an Indian hockey fan gets his match reports in Hindi?

If Lucknow-based Suresh Dixit has his way, Hindi language readers can get updated Asian Games match reports of India's national game in India's national language.

Suresh, who has covered the World Cup (Kuala Lumpur-2002 & Utrecht-1998), Olympics (Sydney-2000), Asian Games (Bangkok-1998) and the Champions Trophy (Chennai-1996), is looking for a sponsor in order to cover the 2002 Asian Games, to be held in Busan, Korea, from September 29 - October 14.

During the 2002 World Cup, Suresh interviewed Els Breda Vriesman, President of the FIH, Khalid Khokar, manager of the Pakistani team, and Jorge Lombi and Sohail Abbas, the joint top-scorers of the World Cup. All these interviews were published in Hindi.

In India, many Hindi language magazines have folded even as English language magazines have flourished. Sapthahik Hindustan, the national Hindi weekly of the Hindustan Times group, Dharamyug, the national Hindi weekly of the Times of India group, Dinaman and Khel Khiladi have all disappeared from the scene.

As a result, Suresh has written primarily for Hindi language newspapers like Punjab Kesari, Rajasthan Patrika, Dainik Jagran, Swatantra Bharat (Lucknow), Dainik Bhaskar (Madhya Pradesh) and Sanmarg (Kolkata). Suresh has also contributed to English publications like The Times Of India, Hindustan Times and World Hockey (London). Suresh has made frequent appearances on Akashvani-Lucknow as a sports analyst.

Suresh is originally from Jhansi, the land of Hockey Wizard Dhyan Chand. Suresh was close to Dhyan Chand during the last ten years of his life. Suresh conducted an interview of the Wizard for Sapthahik Hindustan, and has written a book - Dhyan Chand Aur Hockey.

Suresh, who is a manager with State Bank of India, can be reached at MMIG-48, Sector A, State Bank Colony, Sitapur Road Scheme, Lucknow 226020, U.P., India.

unior India hockey player Jasbando Singh died while training at the Air India National Hockey Academy in New Delhi. 18-year-old Jasbando Singh collapsed during a practice session at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium on July 1, and was rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, where he died two days later.

Jasbando, who had joined the academy last month, had skipped training sessions for 3 days during the last week of June because of fever. He rejoined the camp on July 1 after having recovered. But as fate would have it, that turned out to be the last day for him at the academy.

Air India Academy manager Ramesh Nambiar said that Jasbando was rushed to the hospital after he lost consciousness. Jasbando was shifted to the ICU after a scan and blood tests indicated that his condition was serious.

"The doctors' best efforts were in vain," Nambiar said.

The doctors suspected that the young player died of meningitis, apparently the result of a bout of malaria which had afflicted him two months ago.

Jasbando's body was taken to his home town in Manipur on July 5 for the last rites. Budding centre-half Jasbando was a member of the Indian sub-junior team which toured Singapore last year.

his year's junior national championship in Darwin, Australia, saw use of SportsCode - hockey's first real-time video analysis system.

Video footage was relayed from a camera in the grandstand via miniature transmitters to performance analyst Troy Baker on the bench, allowing him to capture and review it as the game was going on.

“What we have done is allow the play to be analysed as it happens,” said Baker. “In the past, you would have to wait until half-time in a hockey match before being able to examine aspects of a game like an opposition’s defensive pattern.”

“With this new technology, if a team has a penalty corner, the coach can analyse the opposition’s defence and alter his/her team’s attack accordingly in time for the next penalty corner,” he said.

While watching a game, the coach “labels” the video as it is brought into the computer, in the process effectively setting up a database of incidents from the game.

As soon as the game is finished (or even at half-time, if desired), the coach can request a selection of the information that has been labelled – e.g., “Show all shots on goals taken by us,” or “Show all penalty corners taken against us.” The SportsCode system will then instantly play back the selected instances on the computer screen, without having to manually search through various video tapes.

SportsCode also has split-screen and video overlay capabilities. One can create highlight reels on individual players. One can move forward or backward in 10-second increments.

The use of SportsCode real-time analysis in hockey is being spearheaded by Sydney-based New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS), whose head hockey coach, Larry McIntosh, served as a video analyst for the Australian men’s hockey team in the 2002 World Cup.

NSWIS is a Global Testing Centre of SportsCode, and has been working with this product for the past 3 years. They system can be quickly customised for all 26 sports at the Institute, be it diving, cricket, hockey, water polo or football, each of which gain to benefit from this cutting-edge video analysis tool.

SportsCode is being used globally by Manchester United (English Premier League), Orlando Magic (NBA), the Korean World Cup football team and New South Wales Cricket team to enhance individual and team performance.

SportsCode requires an Apple G4 800 Powerbook or Desktop (iBook or iMac), with a minimum of 256 MB RAM and 20 GB hard disk. Recommended peripherals include a VST Firewire hard drive (30/75GB) and a Panasonic, Sony or Canon digital video camera.

anesar, 50 kms from New Delhi, is the site of the National Security Guards (NSG) Black Cat commando training centre. Trainees are deputed to this Gurgaon, Haryana based institution from central defence organisations like Border Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Rapid Action Force and Central Reserve Police Force.

For a few days in late June / early July, an unusual group was deputed for commando training - the 28 probables of India's national hockey team. The purpose of their training was to improve killer instinct, increase risk-taking abilities, become physically stronger and to increase endurance.

The plan was the brainchild of IHF president K. P. S. Gill, who himself used commando operations extensively during his Punjab Police days.

“Playing just hockey sometimes becomes monotonous. So we thought of giving the boys a tough fitness session, before moving on to other camps,” said chief coach Rajinder Singh.

The grueling regime began at 6 am with jogging and stretching, followed by circuit training and then obstacle training - where the probables had to clear 26 commando-level obstacles every day in a specified time.

The players then had a 40 minute yoga session, followed by a workout in the gymnasium and then swimming. Evenings were spent in weight-training and various kinds of sports ranging from handball to hockey.

The players found the regimen difficult initially. They even faked injuries to avoid training. But by the end of the course, the players had become believers.

“The whole exercise has toughened us mentally. It has also improved our reflexes,” said veteran defender Dileep Tirkey. Budding penalty corner expert Jugraj Singh added, ‘‘We can confront tough situations now.”

“The NSG instructors made us realise that we’re the best in the country and the youngsters look up to us as role models,” said Prabhjyot Singh.

Based on the success of this unusual camp, the coaches feel that this should be an annual affair. In fact, they even felt that other sports could avail of such camps.

September will see 2 important tournaments for coach Rajinder Singh's team - the Champions Trophy and the Asian Games (where India is the defending champion). It would be interesting to see whether the killer instinct learned in this camp will translate itself to success on the hockey field.

Photograph Courtesy : The 1928 Olympics Official Report

he Photograph of the Month for August features the 1928 Olympic gold medal winning Indian hockey team. This is the earliest known photograph of any All-India hockey team. This photograph was taken at Amsterdam on May 17, 1928, after India trounced Austria 6-0 in its Olympic debut.

The accompanying text on the India - Austria Olympic clash is excerpted from Hockey's Grand Slam by Clary Miller.

The Austrians had seen the Indian team play against the Dutch in the practice matches, and realised that their main task against India would be in the defence. Therefore, they played 4 half-backs and 3 backs soon after the start of the game. In the circumstances, India did well to score three goals in each half.

The Austrians were inclined to indulge in rough tactics, for it was a new experience to them to be tricked so often by their agile and elusive opponents. Playing in their unaccustomed formation, the Austrians soon became ragged, and it was only by the sheer weight of numbers that they kept the Indian forwards out.

Dhyan Chand scored all the 3 goals in the first half, dashing in and out like a will of the wisp. After the interval, Dhyan Chand scored his fourth goal. The fifth was scored by Shaukat Ali, who gave a brilliant display of stickwork. The last goal was scored by Maurice Gateley, giving India a 6-0 victory.

akistan's national hockey team has secured sponsorship from LG Electronics for the rest of the 2002 hockey season. The sponsorship deal was announced by Mr. Pervez Akhtar, Chief Executive Officer of New Allied Electronics, and will cover the 4-Test series in Spain (July), Commonwealth Games (July/August), Champions Trophy (August/September) and finally, the Asian Games (September/October).

In other news, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has awarded $1 million to the Pakistan Hockey Federation for the welfare of the game. PIA chairman Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Hamid Nawaz Khan announced this award at a reception at Rawalpindi Golf Club on July 27 in the honour of the 2001 national championship winning PIA hockey and cricket teams. Each player of PIA's hockey and cricket teams also received a medal and a cash prize of Rs. 25,000

Meanwhile, in South Africa, hockey team sponsor Nedbank has come up with the following cash incentives for the team's performance in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

Award	Performance
2000 Rand	For every goal scored by S. Africa
2000 Rand	For every victory during the Games
10,000 Rand	Bronze medal finish
25,000 Rand	Silver medal finish
50,000 Rand	Commonwealth Gold Medal

The money will not go directly to the players, but into a fund for hockey development in South Africa.

he first autobiography of an Indian hockey player was 'The Goal' written by the Hockey Wizard Dhyan Chand. This path-breaking book was published in 1952 by Sport and Pastime, Chennai, and may be the earliest autobiography of any Indian sportsperson.

This was followed in succession by 'The Golden Hat-Trick' by Balbir Singh Sr. (1977, Vikas Publishers), 'To Hell With Hockey' by Aslam Sher Khan (1982, Allied Publishers) and 'The Golden Boot' by M. K. Kaushik (2000, Thendral Thambi Publications). The last named was a tournament-specific autobiographical work.

Across the border, the first autobiograpy of a Pakistani hockey player was published in 1990. The book was called 'Anwar', by Olympian Anwar Ahmad Khan. Centre-half Anwar had won silver for Pakistan in hockey in the 1956 Olympics, followed by a gold in 1960 (Rome) and then silver again in 1964 (Tokyo).

In 2002, Anwar Ahmad Khan released his second book on hockey, entitled 'Hikayat-e-Hockey'. The book was launched at a ceremony on July 21, with Minister of Sports Col. (retd.) S. K. Tressler officiating as the chief guest.

John Keating from New Jersey, USA, is this edition's Visitor of the Month. John is the hockey coach at Harding Township School, New Vernon, New Jersey.

John had the following to say to BharatiyaHockey.org:

I coach hockey in a 5th-8th grade school. A few years ago, I received a gift from my team of an autographed field hockey stick. It was signed by members of the 1936 Indian Olympic men's team. It was found at an antique show.

I was thrilled with the thoughtful gift from my team, but feel that if it is an authentic piece of Indian hockey history, it should reside in a more meaningful place. I would be happy to take the time to discuss this with someone with knowledge of this stick.

he following table gives the first time an artificial turf was installed in some major hockey playing countries.

Year	Country	City	Stadium
1975	Canada	Montreal	Molson Stadium
1978	England	London	Crystal Palace
1979	Australia	Perth	Western Australia Hockey Assn.
1979	Pakistan	Karachi	Hockey Club of Pakistan Stadium
1980	Netherlands	Amstelveen	Wagener Stadium
1980	Argentina	Buenos Aires	Obras Sanitarias hockey field
1980	Belgium	Brussels	Royal Oree club
1982	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	Tun Razak Stadium
1982	India	New Delhi	National Hockey Stadium
		Patiala	National Institute of Sports
1984	South Africa	Durban	Queensmead Stadium

The following table gives the first time a major hockey competition was held on artificial turf.

Year	Country	City	Event
1976	Canada	Montreal	XXI Olympic Games
1978	Spain	Madrid	3rd Women's World Cup
1979	Puerto Rico	San Juan	VIII Pan American Games
1982	India	New Delhi	IX Asian Games
1986	England	Willesden, London	6th Men's World Cup
1989	Canada	Nepean, Ontario	1st Jr. Women's World Cup