The True Hockey Spirit

By Author: ram kausik
Total Articles: 126
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It is not a good time to be a hockey player in India. I wish I was talking about the astronomical aspect of it all. No, unfortunately, the only contingency vibe I can sense in the future of Indian hockey is the premonition of disaster. In a country which boasts unity in diversity, cricket stands out as the only sport commercialized enough to rake in a more than sizeable income. It is not fair on the other sports, I tell you. While an average kid in India will be able to name at least ten cricket players off the top of their head, it will be a true miracle if he or she can get the name of three hockey players down pat.

The truly sad part is the hockey players themselves are not helping the case of the national game. A sound example would be the hockey team’s disastrous performance at the 2012 London Olympics that earned them an abysmal twelfth place in the tournament, bringing in more shame to the good name of Indian hockey. The former players of the glorious hockey era watched with hung heads as the opposing team wiped the floor clean with our Indian players. The defeat actually caught off guard a nation that was anticipating ...
... a sterling show following their stupendous victory at the Olympic qualifiers. Needless to say, disappointment was part of the menu at the Olympics along with embarrassment and silent resentment.

All hope is not yet lost; India made a somewhat lukewarm comeback at the Melbourne Championships when they finished fourth place. Also, at the recent inaugural Hockey India auction, two of the members of the hockey squad- Sardar Singh and V.R.Raghunath fetched the biggest bids to the tune of USD 78,000 and USD 76,000 respectively, which just goes to show there is in fact a financial interest in the game and the government just has to find a way to tap into it.

True, hockey players’ income doesn’t hold up much on its own, but most of these players are not in it for the remuneration Take Ignace Tirkey for example. He has been with the team for more than ten years and is one of the oldest players of the squad. Ignace Tirkey profile is a true testament of the game’s ebbs and flows. Some of the highlights of Ignace Tirkey statistics include the golden goal he scored at Muruguppa Gold Cup in 2011. Even though it is time for him to retire he is looking forward to scoring a goal or two at the upcoming events in 2014.