Is Indian hockey dying a slow death? According to me, yes. Gone are the days of mastery and splendour the game was known for in the whole of Asia. With people like KPS Gill and Jyothikumaran at the helm, players and coaches are given raw deal every other day. A quality player like Viren Rasquinha is dropped on the eve of Asian Games citing injury concerns. Coaches are not given free hand for selection nor the confidence to choose the team they prefer.

Gill and Jyothikumaran make sure their egos are pampered in terms of team selection, pre-match comments, post-match excuses, etc. Having spoken to guys like Dhanraj Pillay and Dileep Tirkey in the past, I strongly feel that if you are willing to take the nonsense of these IHF bosses, you have a chance of representing India. If you rebel, then it’s anybody’s guess!

If Sachin Tendulkar gets dropped from the team, it will make headlines enough to make our MPs voice their concern in Parliament. If a Dhanraj Pillay gets dropped, it will not find space in our national mainstream media. Sadly, some of the credit for sad state of hockey today must go to cricketisation of Indian sports.

From the last World Cup, I’ve decided not to write reviews anymore on team’s performance as long as Gill and Jyothikumaran rule the roost. It’s a tough call, but I’ am willing to wait.

Read my earlier hockey reviews in Rediff.com, here and here.