The Decline of the National Game of India

Thousands of articles have been written on this topic and thousands will be written. The decline of Indian hockey is a topic which will never cease to produce articles until the time comes when Indian hockey team becomes a superpower again; it is like a modern day Saas-Bahu soap opera of Indian TV which continues to add a new story everyday single day. However it seems that we will have to wait for a long time before the story ends and in the meantime we can spend time reading about decline of Indian hockey.

Even today fans in the country and aficionados all over the world drool over the legend of Dhyan Chand, Roop Singh, Richard Allen, Leslie Claudius and scores of others who became household names across the world. There was a time when the world would watch Indian players transfixed, stunned by their skills with the hockey-stick, the way they dribble past unfortunate souls and score goals. Even Adolf Hitler, enamoured by Dhyan Chand’s wizardry, was reportedly moved to offer him a job in the German military after India outplayed Germany in the Berlin Olympics of 1936.

Hence after so many years of unmatched success, the lament due to the decline is understandable. After all, eight gold medals, a silver and two bronze medals at the Olympics is not an ordinary achievement, it is unmatched by any country in any team sport at the Olympics. India won the Olympics gold from 1928 to 1956 and 1964, with only Pakistan able to stop the Indian juggernaut winning the gold in 1960 and 1968. But such bouts of nostalgia appear hollow today when juxtaposed with harsh reality.

So where did it go wrong? Introduction of artificial turfs in the mid-1970s, shortly after India won the 1975 World Cup, is often blamed as the harbinger of decline of India (and Pakistan).  After the introduction of artificial turfs, their last gold medal—indeed any medal—was in 1980 Moscow Olympics, which was severely weakened due to boycotts. Ill-equipped for the demands of fitness and stamina made by this new surface, India (and Pakistan) rapidly ceded ground to the fitter and stronger oppositions from Europe and Australia. The nadir was reached when India failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. And if that was not enough, India finished at the last position at last year’s Olympics.

But putting the entire blame on astro-turf for the decline after nearly 40 years since its introduction does not hold water. Why India did not adapt to the changing demands of the game? Why has the country struggled to stay afloat in the elite cluster of hockey playing nations?

Lack of proper infrastructure and facilities, almost non-existent financial incentives, lack of proper fitness and stamina for the modern day game, poor match temperament and evaporating self-belief are considered as the main reasons for the decline. There are no long term athlete development programmes and coach development programmes in place.

There are other issues too, the lack of probity and acumen in administration being the foremost. In recent years, maladministration has taken an even more destructive turn in that the establishment has got divided against itself. Rival factions, the Indian Hockey Federation and Hockey India have fought toe and nail to gain control, forgetting the primary reason for their existence. The Indian hockey establishment has almost always been at loggerheads with the players. Players have been dropped and included; those who have dared to question have been dropped or sent into oblivion.

Hockey in India needs an administration with a clear long-term vision, passion, power, knowledge and the knack of getting the things done. Hockey needs goal oriented planning- both short term and long term, coach development and education programmes. India also needs athlete development programmes to restore self-belief among the players and make the players fitter to compete with opponents on an equal footing.

We can only hope that corrective actions are taken for the betterment of Indian hockey. India’s inability to stem the rot coupled with the inability to win a single world class tournament in three decades, has resulted in the loss of a generation of hockey fans, shrinking player base, drying up of sponsorships, and other sports rising up in popularity to take hockey’s place. Thus Indian hockey can ill-afford to decline further. World hockey needs India to rise up again.