| Three
Indians Nominated for FIH Player of the Year Awards |
 eteran
Dhanraj Pillai, Junior World Cup winning captain Gagan Ajeet Singh and
Prabhjyot Singh are in the running for the prestigious 2002 FIH Player of
the Year Awards.
Germany leads the field with 5 overall nominations, while India,
Netherlands and Argentina have 3 each. The judges comprise 2 FIH Master
Coaches (Terry Walsh, Maurits Hendriks) and 6 media representatives from
newspapers, news agencies and a hockey website.
Nominees for the 2002 Women’s Player of the Year were announced
during the Meadow Lea Women’s World Cup, held in Perth from
November 24 - December 8, 2002. No Indian women were nominated, either in
the senior or the junior category.
Player of the Year winners will be determined by a secret ballot amongst the panel members, with first, second and third choices carrying
10, 5 and 2 points respectively. The winners will be announced during the
Women's World Cup, on December 5, 2002.
Dhanraj Pillai is a very strong contender for the FIH Player of the
Year award. His 2002 domestic and international track record includes:
| Category |
Tournament |
City |
Team's Position |
| Domestic |
Muruguppa Gold Cup |
Chennai |
1st, Man of the Final, Player of Tournament |
|
Nehru Hockey Tournament |
Delhi |
2nd |
| International |
World Cup |
Kuala Lumpur |
9th, 2 Goals |
|
Champions Trophy |
Cologne |
4th, 2 Goals, Player of the Tournament |
|
Asian Games |
Busan |
2nd, 3 Goals, Member of All-Star Team |
|
4-Nation Tournament |
Amstelveen |
4th, 1 Goal |
Dhanraj is the face of Indian hockey worldwide. He was the flag-bearer
of the Indian contingent at the 2002 Busan Asian Games. He played for Arthur
Andersen in the Malaysian Hockey League (March - June 2002) and later in Singapore (November 2002).
Dhanraj played a key role in both of India's victories over Pakistan in
2002 (Champions Trophy and Asian Games), including a great play in the
Champions Trophy where Dhanraj single-handedly dodged 4 Pakistani
defenders before passing to Prabhjyot Singh who put in the finishing
touches.
Most importantly, Dhanraj is giving back to the game. He has started
the Dhanraj Pillai Hockey Academy in Mumbai to train youngsters in the
game. Funds were so difficult to get that he had to shift the venue of the
academy in Mumbai 4 times (from Churchgate to Bandra to Powai to Goregaon).
Dhanraj's efforts are slowly paying off. Three of his Academy boys were in the
Indian under-21 team which won the 4th Akbar-el-Yom tournament last month in
Cairo, Egypt. The title victory included a 3-0 defeat of arch-rivals Pakistan.
As one of his colleagues, 'Bawa' Patel said, "How many sportsmen do
what Dhanraj is doing? Look at his compatriot, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. He is
launching a chain of gourmet restaurants in India. It takes guts to do
what Dhanraj is doing."
|
| Indian Hockey
Federation Launches Own Website |
 he
Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) has finally got its own website - http://ihf.nic.in.
It is still a site in the making, but some of the useful information on
this site includes the contact addresses of all state hockey federations,
the list of all Indian Olympians from 1928 - 2000, and the 2002 Calendar
of Events.
For the first time we get to see the entire domestic calendar of the
IHF. Unfortunately, this calendar is full of wrong dates, as can be seen
from the table below:
| Tournament |
Venue |
Actual Dates |
IHF Website Dates |
| Bombay Gold Cup |
Mumbai |
Apr 15 - Apr 26 |
Mar 28 - Apr 8 |
| Obaidullah Khan Gold Cup |
Bhopal |
May 23 - May 31 |
March 2002 |
| Murugappa Gold Cup |
Chennai |
Jul 11 - Jul 20 |
Aug 16 - Aug 25 |
| Surjeet Hockey Tournament |
Jalandhar |
Nov 7 - Nov 16 |
Nov 3 - Nov 12 |
| Lal Bahadur Shastri Tournament |
Delhi |
Nov 28 - Dec 3 |
Oct 2 - Oct 10 |
The All-India Grade 'A' tournaments page lists the National Hockey
Championships for the senior, junior and the sub-junior level. However, no
dates are listed. Though it is a bit late in the year, will any of the
national championships be held in 2002, or will the IHF yet again skip
its responsibility and duty to hold the annual age-group nationals?
Women's hockey is completely ignored. There is no mention of this
year's Women's National Hockey Championship, played in Jalandhar from March 18 to
March 24. Sponsor Coca Cola would certainly not be happy about this
omission. The calendar also does not list the Commonwealth Games, where the
Indian women won the gold against all odds, nor the Champions Challenge nor
the India-USA 3-game playoff.
Also, one critical element lacking on the site is the number of
matches, both domestic and international, played by each member of the
national team. Indian
hockey is sorely lacking in such basic statistics, data that is commonplace in
other sports such as cricket. This is where the IHF has to step up to its
responsibility of maintaining player data.
The home page has links to news articles on Pakistan, Australia and
Holland, but nothing on Indian hockey. Also, the photo gallery, with a
grand total of 4 photographs, would need to be drastically overhauled. In
comparison, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) - http://www.phf.com.pk/
is far superior and professionally done. Like the PHF, it may be best to
contract out the IHF website to a professional web design firm.
For feedback on the site, one can write to Suresh Sharma, Chief of
Protocol of the IHF. He can be reached at sureshsharmaindia@rediffmail.com.
|
| IHF Sees
National Hockey League As Solution |
Article Courtesy : Vineeta Pandey,
Times of India
he
Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) is thinking of introducing a National Hockey League (NHL) to improve the standard of the game in India and give its players some respectability and pride.
"The success of the Bombay Hockey League this year impressed K. P.
S. Gill (IHF president) so much that we are planning to introduce it at
a national level," says K. Jyothikumaran (IHF secretary). But he concedes that they have to first create an attractive format that would excite the spectators,
sponsors and the media.
The NHL, in fact, has been on the IHF's agenda for almost two years. "By next year, we will have an attractive NHL," promises
Jyothikumaran.
The top Indian hockey players are all excited too. "It will not only give us more match practice but will also bring out more talent," says Indian forward
Daljeet Singh, who is currently employed with Punjab Police. His teammates Jugraj Singh and Kanwalpreet Singh echo his views, adding:
"The NHL will make the sport of hockey more glamorous."
Kolkata-based marketing company Leisure Sports Management Pvt. Ltd.,
which roped in Castrol into sponsoring Indian hockey, is working out ways to involve more industries and institutions in the
proposed NHL.
Barring India, almost all the hockey playing nations, right from top ones like Holland, Germany
and Australia to minnows like Singapore, have full-fledged hockey
leagues. Jyothikumaran finds the Dutch national hockey league the most impressive.
Another good idea that the IHF is toying with is to lend its players to various teams around the world to give them more exposure. In fact, in a meeting during the Murugappa hockey tournament in Chennai, Gill suggested that not only should foreign players be allowed to play in the NHL here, Indian players too should be encouraged to
play abroad.
Dhanraj Pillai is the best example. He has gained a lot by playing in leagues outside India. In fact, Gill himself had helped Indian strikers
Prabhjyot Singh and Anwar Khan get contracts with the Indian Gymkhana club in London. Former Indian skipper Baljit Dhillon too has an offer from a club in Holland.
The exchange programme and the NHL might well be the first steps in India remerging as a major force in
hockey.
|
| IHF Set
To Launch National Hockey League |
Article Courtesy : Deccan
Herald
 National Hockey
League (NHL) on the lines of the National Football League (NFL) is likely to get underway early next year, said Indian Hockey Federation (IHF)
secretary K. Jyothikumaran.
"The modalities are yet to be worked out, but the process is already
underway,” said Jyothikumaran. Leisure Sports Management (LSM), the
Kolkata-based event management group who had supported the NFL earlier, has been roped in to do the spadework for the
proposed hockey league, added Jyothikumaran. This would entail finalising the number of teams, the format, as well as scouting for sponsors.
Preliminary discussions between the IHF and LSM have been in progress
for the past few months. The IHF, in a bid to gather a broad range of ideas, had also taken suggestions from former Olympians during the MCC-Murugappa hockey tournament in Chennai
in July.
Initial plans were to field teams from each city, with the best players from the city making up a squad. That idea, however,
is unlikely to take root considering the lack of support a
'city team' would get, as opposed to the fan following a club or a public sector team will garner.
Although city teams did exist in other countries, especially in the
United States, a similar model back home is unlikely to be popular.
A national league then brings into question the future of the national championships. However, that bridge will be crossed as and when it approaches. What has been done in football may also be followed here, with
the annual calendar accommodating both the national championships and
the national league.
An NHL was a long felt need in India, considering that India is a top Asian hockey power.
Countries like Malaysia and Bangladesh, who are just about making their way up the international
ladder, have instituted national leagues, and active ones at that, where a host of Indian players have participated.
A lack of a professional league in the country has at times forced national players to turn out for clubs in Europe and Australia at the cost of assignments for their country. A league back home could possibly
reverse such a trend, and maybe inject some much-needed vigour back into the
game.
|
| Olympian Joginder
Singh Passes Away in Kolkata |
Photograph Courtesy : Wills Book of Excellence
 lympian
Joginder Singh 'Gindi', a member of the gold medal-winning Indian hockey
squad at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, passed away in a Kolkata hospital on
November 6 after a protracted illness.
Joginder (63), survived by his wife and a son, was suffering from
kidney failure and breathed his last at the Garden Reach Hospital of South
Eastern Railway. Joginder used to undergo dialysis three times a day,
seven days a week, while awaiting a kidney transplant.
Joginder was part of the Indian team that won silver at the 1960
Rome Olympics, silver at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games, and gold at the
1964 Tokyo Olympics. After the Tokyo gold-medal winning effort, the
dazzling right winger was named the finest hockey player of the world by
the English press. Joginder played for India between 1959 and 1967.
Joginder first made his mark playing for Delhi Schools in the national
schools championships from 1954 to 1956. He then played for Khalsa Blues in
the local league, and for Delhi in the Nationals until 1959.
Gurbaksh Singh, who was his contemporary, described him as one of the
finest right-wingers to ever play for the country. Expressing shock at his
death, Gurbaksh said, "Joginder was a real genius and a thorough
gentleman."
Joginder played for and coached the erstwhile Bengal Nagpur Railway
hockey team for
more than 20 years, till his retirement from South Eastern Railway on
August 31, 2000.
Two days before his retirement, a benefit match was played
between Railways XI and Army XI at Delhi. The match was organised by the
Jawaharlal Nehru Hockey Tournament Society, and a handsome purse of Rs 6.5
lakhs was presented by the then Union Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh
Dhindsa to the ailing Olympian. Money for the purse was contributed by the
Railways, Ministry of Sports, ex-Olympians, Punjab & Sindh Bank and
Allahabad Bank. Incidentally, there was no contribution from the Indian
Hockey Federation (IHF).
Paying Joginder a tribute at the presentation ceremony that day, former
IHF president Ashwini Kumar recalled the
1964 Olympic final against Pakistan, where Gindi repeatedly tore through
the rival defence.
"Joginder was unstoppable. The rival full-backs used all methods
to stop him. They tried to obstruct him, then resorted to pulling his
shirt and crowding, but to no avail."
Joginder, whose stickwork was folklore among his contemporaries, used
to bemoan the lack of competition in present-day Indian hockey.
"For the 1960 Rome Olympics, we had seven right-outs. Everyone of
them deserved a place in the final eleven. No one was inferior to the
other. The difference in class was wafer-thin. So we were always trying to
upgrade ourselves, to outdo the other," said Joginder.
On the fall in standards of Indian hockey over the years, Joginder
said, "There is virtually no hockey left in our schools, and therein
lies the cause of India's decline. How many schools have qualified
coaches?"
Joginder served his country well and had no regrets in life. "I am
happy with what I have got. I served my country as best as I could, and I
think I did a good job. It really makes the country proud when the
national anthem is played during the award-giving ceremony at the Olympic
Games."
As it did on that cold afternoon on November 23, 1964, when India beat
Pakistan to win the Olympic hockey gold medal.
|
| Punjab
Police Win
39th Jawaharlal Nehru Hockey Tournament |
he
39th edition of the Jawaharlal Nehru hockey tournament was held at the
Shivaji Stadium in Delhi, with the Super League being held from November
20 to November 25.
9-time winners Indian Airlines and Punjab Police made it to the final,
with the following match results:
| Date |
Punjab Police |
Indian Airlines |
| Nov 20 |
beat Rock Rovers 6-0 |
|
| Nov 21 |
|
lost to Sports Authority of India 2-3 |
| Nov 22 |
beat Railways 7-3 |
beat Bharat Petroleum 4-0 |
| Nov 24 (semis) |
beat Border Security Force 3-0 |
beat Punjab Sindh Bank 2-0 |
In the final played on November 25 before a crowd of 4,000, Punjab Police beat Indian Airlines
3-2 via a golden goal, after the game was tied 2-2 at the end of regulation
time. Punjab Police were awarded a penalty corner by umpire Javed Sheikh in extra time,
which was converted into a golden goal by skipper Gagan Ajeet Singh.
An infuriated Pillai and other Indian Airlines players argued with the umpire asking him to disallow the
goal. Pillai claimed that the ball had hit his legs before going into the net.
As Sheikh turned down his appeal, Pillai abused the umpire and pushed him
repeatedly.
Even during the first half, Pillai had a scuffle with the other umpire
Satinder Sharma. Irked over a decision that went against him, he mouthed
expletives and threw away his stick in disgust.
The umpires, who had to seek police protection, did not collect their souvenirs at the presentation
ceremony in protest. In a strong note to the tournament director and IHF, the umpires
demanded protection from such unruly behaviour. "We will not officiate in any match involving Indian Airlines till the player
(Pillai) apologises, and his employers give us the assurance that the incident will not
recur."
The next day, following reports that someone was circulating
negative reports about Dhanraj Pillai at the media centre in the Perth
World Cup, there was an abrupt volte-face by the two umpires. Both Satinder Sharma and Javed Sheikh said
that the issue was not so big as to dent
Pillai's chances at getting the FIH Player of the Year award.
"Pillai is temperamental and moody, but no one can question his commitment to the game. I hope the FIH jury keeps in mind his fine performance this season," said Sharma from Chandigarh. He added: "If
Pillai is denied the award on these grounds, it will be unfair. As for us, we have no complaints."
Mumbai umpire Javed Sheikh alleged that the media blew things out of proportion.
"Pillai did argue with us but he never hit us. Arguments are part and parcel of the game and we punished him by showing him a card. The offence
did not even merit a red card." The fact remains that Dhanraj Pillai has
never got a red card in any domestic or international tournament.
|
| Bharat
Petroleum Win 19th Surjeet Memorial Tournament |
he
19th edition of the Surjeet memorial hockey tournament
was held at the Burlton Park stadium in Jalandhar from November 7 to November 16. The tournament was
sponsored by Indian Oil Corporation.
Teams that got eliminated in the initial stages were Steel Authority of
India, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Corps of Signals, Central
Industrial Security Force and Border Security Force.
Defending champion Punjab & Sindh Bank (PSB) and Bharat Petroleum made it to the final with
the following match results:
| Date |
Punjab & Sindh Bank |
Bharat Petroleum |
| Nov 7 |
beat Namdhari Academy 1-0 |
|
| Nov 10 |
|
beat Indian Oil Corporation 3-2 |
| Nov 13 |
lost 2-4 to Air India |
beat PSB Academy 4-2 |
| Nov 14 (semis) |
beat Punjab Police 3-2 |
beat Air India 7-5 (tie-breaker) |
In the final played on November 16, Bharat Petroleum beat Punjab and Sind Bank 3-2
to win the Surjeet Memorial Tournament. The bankmen forged ahead in the 17th minute through Parminder Singh, but Sourab Bishnoi
equalized for Bharat Petroleum off a penalty-corner in the 31st minute.
Sandeep Singh then put PSB ahead for the second time in the match in the 47th minute but Amar
Ayyana drew parity for Bharat Petroleum eight minutes later after receiving a pass from Tushar
Khandekar.
In the dying minutes of extra-time, international Bipin Fernandes scored from a penalty-corner to seal the fate of the six-time champions.
A women's tournament was also held simultaneously. Northern Railway got the better of Haryana XI 3-2
to win the title. Punjab XI and Rail Coach Factory were among the other
teams participating in the women's tournament.
|
| Photograph
of the Month |
Indian Hockey Team Celebrating in the 1980
Moscow Olympics
he Photograph of
the Month for December features Merwyn Fernandes and other forwards
celebrating the scoring of a goal in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. India won an
unusual Olympic hockey tournament where the top 3 teams of the preceding
1976 Montreal Olympics - New Zealand (gold), Australia (silver) and Pakistan
(bronze) boycotted the 1980 Olympic hockey tournament.
|
| Money Matters |
