IHF in trouble again

In a damning indictment of the Indian Hockey Federation, the FIH has asked the Indian Olympic Association to get things right with the Hockey Federation or else the Hockey project as well as the 2010 World Cup will be cancelled.

Speaking to reporters the FIH Chief Els Vran Breda Vriesman said it was incomprehensible on how a body could function with a Secretary of the Board being accused of Corruption. The Chief went on to suggest that even Gill could be involved in it as he has been supporting his Secretary.

Here is an article on the same

http://sports.indiatimes.com/FIH_to_IOA_Manage_IHF_or_forget_WC/articleshow/2988081.cms

The Chak De effect on Indian hockey

In recent memory never had a hockey team in India cornered all the attention and never had a hockey coach been such a star.

With Chak De India Shah Rukh Khan, who we see more at cricket matches, had become an unofficial brand ambassador for hockey.

But beyond the hype and hoopla there was a calculated business truth. Two weeks after Chak De India‘s release it had become clear that it had scored a goal at the box office and become a phenomenon.

This less than conventional tale with no romance and no high-billed heroines, instead an intimate and inspiring story of patriotism and team-spirit has won the heart of the nation.

The story is based loosely on the career of former Indian goalkeeper Mir Ranjan Negi who fell from grace after conceding seven goals against Pakistan in the 1982 Asian Games final.

In the film the protagonist returns to the game with a vengeance by coaching the women’s team to a great international victory.

“I should say that I’m really inspired. People should make this kind of movies, which inspire not only the players, but also encourage youngsters to take up the game. It has, you know. When you’re playing for the country, when you’re wearing the Indian jersey, it’s an altogether different feeling. And especially when you’re playing in front of your home crowd,” said Sunil Chhetri, Member, JCT, Indian Footballer.

Reviving hockey

The film was credited with reviving hockey, bringing it back into limelight, if even for a while, and giving the game a memorable celluloid chant.

“The intricate meaning of the word is Chak De Phatte, Nap De Killi. Killi is a small lever that you pull. And when you pull it, the water starts gushing into the fields through a motor. Now that Killi is always invariably hidden under a well. And that well is covered by wooden planks. So you lift the phatta, i.e. Chak De Phatta, and then you pull the killi. And then the water starts flowing, gushing into the fields. So it’s got everything to do with positivity,” said Navjot Singh Sidhu, former Indian cricket player.

And Komal, Preeti, Bindiya, Balbir and Sui Mui became household names.

“Ya, first of all hockey as a sport doesn’t get much money allotted to it by major corporations, because it’s not the kind of sport that gets much attention. Plus, again because it was a women’s film and was a genre in a film that really hadn’t been done before,” said Shimit Amin, Director, Chak De India.

Yes, Chak De India was just a movie and there is a huge difference between reel life and real life.

But soon as the Indian hockey team lifted the men’s Asia Cup hockey title with a huge 7-2 win over South Korea in Chennai, many said the film had been a motivating factor for our players.

Of course, very quickly the Chak De chant had been usurped by cricket at the T20 world Cup win, claiming the universal spirit of any game.

Nothing perhaps could sum up the marriage of sportsmanship in reel and real life better than this.

India might miss the Hockey world cup in 2010

As if the failure to make it to the Beijing was not bad enough, India could miss out on hosting the 2010 men’s hockey World Cup as well if the FIH is not satisfied with the steps taken to revive the game in the country.The world body has provisionally allotted the mega event to New Delhi, but the FIH Executive Board will decide in its meetings starting in Lausanne, Switzerland on March 25, whether to confirm the proposal.

“The FIH Executive Board will discuss further steps to be taken on continuing the project ‘Promoting Indian Hockey’ and on the decision on the staging of the 2010 Men’s World Cup in New Delhi,” the president of the world body Els van Breda Vriesman said in an official statement.
She indicated that the hosting rights for the 2010 World Cup were subject to the Indian Hockey Federation getting its act together and showing some initiative in putting the game back on the track in the country.“It has been made clear that the staging of the 2010 World Cup is related to the success of the project and the world body is still waiting for signs that things are really going to happen in India,” Vriesman said.

FIH had done its bit by launching the ‘Promoting Indian Hockey’ project and getting Australian legend Ric Charlesworth as IHF’s Technical Adviser, but it seems the world body is not satisfied that the KPS Gill-led Federation is keeping its end of the bargain.“The result (in Chile) shows that Indian Hockey now needs to implement the Operational Plans which have been provided nearly a year ago as part of the project ‘Promoting Indian Hockey’ without any further delay.“

In these plans, Ric Charlesworth is going to play an instrumental role for a more structural development of Indian hockey in the long term, while he can also be of great assistance on the short term with the help of the Indian Ministry of Sports and the Indian Hockey Confederation,” the FIH boss said.

“The project ‘Promoting Indian Hockey’, supported by the FIH, the International Olympic Committee and the Indian Olympic Association, should be taken seriously to achieve progress in the identified areas of concern, amongst them the national teams of India,” she added.