Teams like Australia, Germany and Holland have reflected how a high-quality domestic structure can do wonders to hockey.

By Pargat Singh

The grain has been separated from the chaff. The teams that have made the semifinals were more or less expected, although I didn’t expect England to make the last-four before the tournament started. But then the English have shown what focus, intelligence and team work can do in hockey.

I was expecting India to finish fifth or sixth. That would have been creditable for Rajpal’s boys. But when a team concedes 17 goals, its fate is more or less sealed. Till the end of the group stage, India conceded more goals than they scored (13) and that tells how well the hosts played.

By contrast, teams like Australia, the Netherlands and Germany conceded anywhere between 9 and 6 goals. It reflects how well they have managed their defence. Organisation is key to modern hockey and the team that defends better, emerges the winner.

Hockey is like a gharana. You hone it over years and years. The Dutch, the Germans and the Aussies are reaping the benefits of something they have been at it with dedication and focus. Their teams are a mixture of callow youth and salty pros. Their squads have emerged from a well-programmed feeder system. More than 20 years of hard work is bound to reflect and the semifinal line-up exactly shows that.

Where is the feeder system in India? There is no point raising a hue and cry over our numerous defensive blunders at the World Cup. It is a time to do some serious soul searching. When the entire world is banking on a system that will keep producing players every year, India’s planning looks terribly suspect.

Let’s delve into a bit of statistics. Last year in Malaysia and Singapore, India finished 9th in the junior World Cup. The top three teams in the June tournament were Germany, Holland and Australia. Champions in 2001, India finished fourth in the 2005 edition in Rotterdam. Four years later, India went five slots down the ladder. The rot had already started.

A feeder system is central to advancement. In the current squad, there is just Diwakar Ram who has made the ‘cut.’ Deepak Thakur, Gaganjit Singh and Prabhjot Singh all came from the developmental squad. There’s been a huge gap after that. And I am not surprised.

I know of a player in the developmental side, whose age is 30! If the average age of the developmental side is going to be in the 20s, then God help India. And then, our players are fudging their ages in national camps and tournaments. What is the management doing?

By appointing a foreign coach we are not doing a great service to Indian hockey. Jose Brasa may be a good coach but what about the “experts” who are managing the show from behind? What about the selectors who pick injured players in the World Cup team? Isn’t this a national crime?

If you are an expert, behave like one. KPS Gill has done enough damage already. His delaying tactics have harmed Indian hockey greatly. From 1994 to 2006, he kept on promising a rosy picture. The result is our world No. 12 rank.

Too many cooks spoil the broth. Half-a-dozen selectors have created a huge mess. Brasa is being helped by ‘experts’ who have struck a great balance between sycophancy and necessity. The politicking administrators love such fence-sitting experts, who are least bothered about India’s image.

India will play Argentina for the 7th place. By no means will it be an easy game on Friday. I will be looking forward to the semifinals on Thursday. England have impressed me with their consistent display. But holders Germany will be hard nuts to crack and that is entirely because they are better defenders as a team.

(Former two-time Olympic captain Pargat Singh is covering the hockey World Cup exclusively for www.espnstar.com)

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