ix Olympians, including Dhanraj Pillai, have written to President A. P. J. Abdul Kalaam drawing his attention to the "autocratic and undemocratic" manner in which the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) is being run.

Expressing their disillusionment at the way the country was losing its name in the international arena, they urged the President, who is also the Patron-in-Chief of the IHF, to help "ameliorate the worsening condition". The Olympians also sought to bring to the President's notice alleged misuse of funds by the IHF office bearers, who they claimed were continuing to hold office in defiance of rules.

The letter comes close on the heels of five Olympians writing a similar letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking his intervention to implement the 1975 Government of India guideline that bars office-bearers of national sports federations from continuing for more than two terms of four years each.

In an 11-page letter to Dr Manmohan Singh, Olympians Pargat Singh, Balbir Singh, Ashok Kumar, Tarsem Singh and M. K. Kaushik, and former national player Gurdeep Singh, have alleged that the functioning of the IHF over the past decade had resulted in a decline of the game in the country.

The letter stated: "People at the helm of affairs of the IHF are continuing to occupy their positions for more than one decade without a change, and are working to serve their personal motives and desires. They do not possess any sincere interest either in the sport of hockey or the welfare of the players. Facilities, training and equipment given to international players are completely dependent upon the whims and fancies of these IHF officials. The same is the fate with regard to the selection of coaches and managers".

The letter pointed out that after much deliberation with national sports federations, Indian Olympic Association and the All-India Sports Council, the Government had formulated a guideline in 1975 that barred office bearers of sports federations from continuing in their offices for more than two terms of four years each. Similarly, it was decided to have at least 25 per cent of representations in the federations composed of former players. However, this aspect had been "consciously lost sight of" and "not been given its due regard" in the national sports federations.

Taking a dig at the IHF, the former players alleged the federation was using the available funds only "for the benefits of the office-bearers" and drew the Prime Minister’s attention to "...irregularities of the accounts in almost every IHF auditor’s report."

Attaching copies of the most recent auditor's report with the letter, the players cited "huge and significant" financial irregularities by the IHF top brass, and sought Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s intervention to look into the matter. They requested Dr. Manmohan Singh to issue appropriate instructions for immediate compliance of the 1975 guideline by all the national sports federations, including the IHF.

"Officials who are occupying their positions for more than eight years in violation of the government rules should be immediately asked to quit. In the event of their disobedience, they should be thrown out," they concluded.

Article courtesy George Das of New Straits Times

atching the 2005 Azlan Shah Cup, I wondered what has happened to the original game of hockey that mesmerised the world.

The 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, where unrated New Zealand won the gold, saw the shift begin to artificial turf. Slowly but surely, the game that was played for more than half a century on natural grass, began to disappear. Why should this have happened?

Asian nations like India, Pakistan and Malaysia could have averted this, but allowed the switch to artificial turf without a fight. I remember my late friend Sidney Frisken, the hockey correspondent for The Times (of London), questioned the Asian Hockey Federation for abandoning to play hockey on natural grass. "Why not play on two different surfaces?" he asked.

Look at sports in the world today. If tennis can be played on different surfaces, why not hockey? Sports demands proficiency in different conditions. Andre Agassi made history by winning the Grand Slam on the four difference surfaces tennis is played on.

Golf is played on different surface conditions. No one golf course is the same in the world. Ask Vijay Singh or our own V. Nellan. When you play on different tennis surfaces or golf courses, it demands different skills and this brings out the true champions.

When it comes to present day hockey, it does not matter in which country it is being played. Whether it is in Kuala Lumpur, Amsterdam or Sydney, all surfaces looks the same.

It would be great to know whether today’s players can play on natural grass the way they excel on artificial turf. I believe a good player will be able to adapt to any ground condition.

Would Australia, Holland and Germany be major forces on natural grass? Probably India, Pakistan and even Malaysia could produce their magic and emerge tops.

Maybe it would be a good idea that the Azlan Shah tournament be played on natural grass. It will boost the image of the event as the only FIH-sanctioned international tournament played on natural grass. Thus the champion of this Azlan Shah Cup will also emerge as the world’s best team on grass.

he 8th Men's Junior World Cup for the Roger Danet Trophy was held in the port city of Rotterdam, Netherlands, from June 29 to July 10. 16 countries participated in the tournament, with the continent-wise breakup being Europe (6), Asia (4), Pan America (3), Africa (2) and Oceania (1).

It would eventually turn out that the the four semi-finalists would be evenly distributed across the continents, with 1 each from Europe (Spain), Asia (India), Pan America (Argentina) and Oceania (Australia).

The Indian team contained 4 Olympians - skipper and goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza, defenders Sandeep Singh and William Xalco, and forward Adam Sinclair. 4 others played in the 2004 Champions Trophy in Lahore - half-backs V. S. Vinay and Vivek Gupta, and forwards Tushar Khandekar and Hari Prasad.

21-year old midfielder Prabodh Tirkey, who was in the victorious Indian team in the last edition at Hobart, got injured on the first day of the 40-day preparatory camp in Hyderabad, and had to miss the tournament.

Tushar Khandekar suffered a personal loss before the tournament when his father passed away in Indore. The Indian team was then training at Frankfurt. Tushar rushed to Indore to attend his father's funeral, and three days later, was back in Rotterdam to play for India, stating "I feel my dad is still alive and watching me. He was my first coach."

Despite the presence of so many stalwarts, holders India finished a disappointing 4th in the tournament. India's match results were as follows:

Date	Result	Goal Scorers - India
Jun 29	India 4 - Egypt 1	Sandeep Singh (5, 26, 56 m) V. Raja (60 m)
Jun 30	India 3 - Poland 2	Hari Prasad (22 m) Birendra Lakra (43 m) Sandeep Singh (56 m), PC
Jul 2	India 4 - Netherlands 1	Sandeep Singh (12, 60 m), PCs Tushar Khandekar (15, 62 m)
Jul 3	Spain 4 - India 0
Jul 5	India 3 - South Korea 1	Birendra Lakra (15 m) Tushar Khandekar (17 m) Sandeep Singh (57 m), PC
Jul 6	India 1 - England 0	Sandeep Singh (26 m), PC
Jul 8	Australia 3 - India 2	Tushar Khandekar (19 m) Sandeep Singh (31 m), PC
Jul 10	Spain 1 (6) - India 1 (5)	Hari Prasad (9 m), PC

In the semi-final against Australia, India failed to hold on to a 2-0 lead in the second half, and allowed Australia to score 3 unanswered goals. In the bronze medal match against Spain, India failed to hold on to a 1-0 lead in the second half.

The Junior World Cup final between Argentina and Australia was broadcast live in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay by ESPN Argentina. The final day's matches - 5th place match, bronze medal playoff and the tournament final - was broadcast in South Asia by Ten Sports Asia.

The final placings were: 1 - Argentina, 2 - Australia, 3 - Spain, 4 - India, 5 - Netherlands, 6 - Germany, 7 - Pakistan, 8 - South Korea, 9 - England, 10 - Malaysia, 11 - Belgium, 12 - Egypt, 13 - South Africa, 14 - Poland, 15 - Chile, 16 - Mexico.

All leading senior-team coaches of the world were present at the tournament to gauge emerging talent - Barry Dancer of Australia, Bernhard Peters of Germany, Roelant Oltmans of Netherlands, Maurits Hendriks of Spain, Paul Lissek and Ric Charlesworth, whose son, Joanathan Charlesworth, was part of the Aussie team. It remains a mystery why the IHF did not depute Rajinder Singh (Jr.) to this important tournament.

The Indian team for the 8th Junior World Cup was as follows:

Goalkeepers: Adrian D'Souza (Bharat Petroleum) - captain, P. Sreejesh (Kerala)

Full-backs: William Xalco (Air India Academy), Ajmer Singh (Namdhari XI), Sandeep Singh (Indian Airlines)

Half-backs: V. S. Vinay (Indian Airlines), Vivek Gupta (ONGC), Dhananjai Mahadhik, Senthil (Tamil Nadu), Vikram Kanth (Karnataka), Navpreet Singh (Punjab and Sindh Bank)

Forwards: Nitin Kumar (Indian Oil), Adam Sinclair, Veerachami Raja (Tamil Nadu), Hari Prasad (Karnakata), Ajitesh Rai (Bihar), Birendra Lakra (Indian Airlines), Tushar Khandekar (Bharat Petroleum)

Officials: Chief Coach - Harendra Singh; Assistant Coach - Clarence Lobo; Trainer - Dr. Saju Joseph; Doctor - Dr. Ravindra Kumar; Manager - Pratap Satpathi; Umpire - Raghu Prasad

4-nation tournament was held in Bilbao (Spain) from June 17 to June 19, as part of the preparations for the 8th Junior World Cup. The participating countries were host Spain, India, Chile and Netherlands.

India finishing undefeated in the tournament with two wins and a draw to emerge winners. India's match results were as follows:

Date	Result	Goal Scorers - India
June 17	India 4 - Netherlands 3	Sandeep Singh (2) Dhananjai Mahadhik Hari Prasad
June 18	India 3 - Spain 2	Sandeep Singh (2) V. Raja
June 19	India 2 - Chile 2

Drag-flicker Sandeep Singh was declared the Player of the Tournament, while Adrian D'Souza was named the Goalkeeper of the Tournament.

he 5th 6-Nation KT Cup women's hockey tournament was held in Seoul, South Korea, from June 9 to June 16. The participating countries were host Korea, India, China, Malaysia, England and Ireland.

Except Malaysia, India could beat no other country in the tournament and finished second from last. India's match results were as follows:

Date	Result
June 9	India 7 - Malaysia 2
June 10	India 1 - England 1
June 12	South Korea 3 - India 0
June 13	Ireland 2 - India 1
June 15	China 2 - India 1
June 16	India 8 - Malaysia 2

The final placings were: 1 - England, 2 - South Korea, 3 - China, 4 - Ireland, 5 - India, 6 - Malaysia

The Indian team for the 6-Nation KT Cup was as follows:

Players: Helen Mary (captain), Kaanti Baa, Asunta Lakra, Saravjit Kaur, Deepika Thakur, Mamta Kharab, Rajni Bala, Amrita Ming, Jasjeet Kaur Handa, Sarita Lakra, Rajvinder Kaur, Jyoti Sunita Kullu, Saba Anjum Karim, Guddi Kumari, Anjana Barla, Gagandeep Kaur, Adeline Kerketta, Subhadra Pradhan.

Officials: M. K. Kaushik (chief coach), Y. S. Chauhan (assistant coach), Anurita Saini (manager), P. S. M. Chandran (doctor), Rajinder Kumar (video cameraman)

Tushar Khandekar in action against Netherlands
Photograph courtesy Vijay Sathya

he Photograph of the Month for July 2005 is of brave hearted Tushar Khandekar, shown above in action against England in the Junior World Cup. The following article is by Sundeep Misra that appeared in Midday newspaper .

Sometimes adversity and personal tragedy bring out the steel in men. Tushar’s father had passed away in Indore last Saturday (June 25). Apparently the young man had been hurriedly sent away by the Indian coach Harinder Singh with the message that his father was in a coma and he should visit him. The Indian team was then training at Frankfurt.

"I got a call from his relative Subodh Khandekar saying that Tushar’s father had passed away," said Harinder. "I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that, so we told him about the coma."

Tushar attended his father’s funeral on Sunday (June 26) and was back in Rotterdam on Wednesday (June 29) morning, ready to play for the reigning world champions against Egypt.

"I was amazed by the way he played against the Egyptians," said Harinder. "During the entire 70 minutes, he showed a lot of commitment and determination."

After a rusty first ten minutes, Tushar was in full flow, especially in the second half where he stretched the Egyptian left halves, sending in some breathtaking crosses. Thrice, he went past three defenders, flipping the ball over their sticks in a superb display of skills.

If he wasn’t in the scoring list, it wasn’t because he missed goals, but had instead decided to take on the workload.

"Tushar’s performance will lift the team," said Harinder. "The boys sense the commitment in him even after such a tragedy, and will put in their best to support him."

he Marketing Committee of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has agreed to allow 650 sq. cm. of space on players’ shirts for sponsorship, subject to the approval by its Executive Board. Currently, 350 sq. cm. of space is permitted on the shirt front, and 80 sq. cm. on the left sleeve.

A marketing official of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) who attended a recent FIH meeting revealed that the sponsorship area would cover the shirt front, its rear (the area over the players’ name and number), both sleeves and the space on both sides of the shirt.

Said the PHF official, “It was the result of intense lobbying by us that led to the FIH agreeing to more space. Our slogan was more sponsors, more money, better for hockey. The left sleeve was good only when a team was facing the camera, but after the breather when the sides changed halves, it could not be seen. That is why we wanted to have sponsorship area on the right sleeve too."

he Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) has signed a landmark deal with the ESPN-Star Sports for the telecast of 102 international matches featuring India over the next 3 years. Under the contract, the sports channel will broadcast and market the "IHF Hockey Package", which includes 102 international matches, as well as any other hockey tournament which the IHF launches during the next three years.

Leisure Sports Management (LSM), the marketing agency of the IHF, facilitated the deal. IHF President K. P. S. Gill told reporters in New Delhi. "The entire process of scheduling and showcasing hockey tournaments in Indian is being systematised. We will release the names of countries visiting India well in advance, which will help in better marketing and selling of the tournaments."

R. C. Venkatesh, Managing Director, ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd. said, "With the PHL, we have proven that Television Network-Federation partnerships can be the way to popularise games. We will be able to leverage the overall increase of live and non-live hockey programming on our networks, both for marketing hockey and for selling it to advertisers. Our role in this deal will be more than mere telecasting. We will market the hockey players and the sport better."

The IHF also announced a tentative schedule of the countries which will be visiting India over the next year. The list includes South Korea, Malaysia, Spain, Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand and Germany.

Amarveer Singh Bhullar of Delhi is this edition's Visitor of the Month. Amarveer Singh wrote the following to BharatiyaHockey.org:

India was the defending champion in Junior World Hockey, and yet not a single Indian news channel had either live coverage or match reports or analyses. I don't understand this step motherly treatment meted to hockey in India.

After the Hobart Junior World Cup triumph in 2001, Uma Bharati (the then Sports Minister) made a hue and cry about non-telecast of India's matches. Nothing has changed between 2001 and 2005.

I will hold the IHF responsible for lack of press support (both print and media) for hockey. In stark contrast, pages and pages have been devoted to a yet to be implemented change in the Television Umpire for cricket, while there has been nothing about the Junior World Cup Hockey except the column Reverse Flick by Mark Hoogstad.

I want to ask a question to the IHF regarding their media policy. Some time back they had put Anupam Gulati in the charge of media affairs for the IHF. What policy has been put in place?

The less said about our media is better. The Senior Women's National Hockey Championship is going on in Delhi, and the coverage it is getting in the newspapers is less than that given to a school-level cricket tournament. And Hockey is our national game! Wake up IHF, before it is too late.

Statistics by B. G. Joshi

t the conclusion of the 8th Men's Junior World Cup Hockey Tournament in Rotterdam, the following is the list of all medal winners:

Year	City	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	India
1979	Versailles	France	Pakistan	Germany	Netherlands	5th
1982	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	Germany	Australia	Pakistan	5th
1985	Vancouver	Canada	Germany	Netherlands	Pakistan	5th
1989	Ipoh	Malaysia	Germany	Australia	Pakistan	Did not qualify
1993	Terrassa	Spain	Germany	Pakistan	Australia	Did not qualify
1997	Milton Keynes	England	Australia	India	Germany	2nd
2001	Hobart	Australia	India	Argentina	Germany	1st
2005	Rotterdam	Netherlands	Argentina	Australia	Spain	4th

Until the 2005 tournament, Germany had won a medal in every edition of the Junior World Cup. Germany had 4 Golds, 1 Silver and 2 Bronzes in its 7 appearances in the Junior  World Cup. However, this streak was broken when Germany finished 6th in the 2005 edition.

Only 7 countries have won medals in the 8 editions of the Men's Junior World Cup Hockey Tournament. The country-wise roll of honour is as follows:

Country	Appearances	Medals	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Germany	8	7	4	1	2
Netherlands	8	2	-	1	1
Australia	7	5	1	3	1
Pakistan	7	5	1	1	3
Argentina	7	2	1	1	-
Spain	7	1	-	-	1
India	6	2	1	1	-
Total		24	8	8	8