Nobody expected a cathartic experience from our hockey team at the Doha Asian Games. Well, nobody expected the egg-on-the-face experience either. It was a classic scramble — a dubious first of failing to reach an Asian Games semi-final, also the first time without a medal since the event was introduced at the continental Games in 1958 (Tokyo).

A few discerning eyebrows were raised, and though the much-sacked chief coach Vasudevan Baskaran managed to keep his job, his comment after being thrown out of contention following a 1-1 draw with South Korea should have opened eyes.

He was actually “happy” with the team’s performance versus Korea, and carried just one regret — “my black spot was the loss to China, that is the regret,” he had told this correspondent.

India started with the useless euphoria of a 6-0 win over Bangladesh, before losing 2-3 to China, wasted opportunities being the culprit. If they felt their performance against the Koreans was any yardstick, it has to be remembered that the Koreans had already made it to the semi-finals and were unlikely to have played out of their skins against India anyway.

It was a sad commentary on the state of affairs at the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), well reflected in the cavalier attitude of the coach. Even skipper Dilip Tirkey understood, admitting that he felt “sad that this happened under my captaincy,” but the 1980 Olympic gold medallist coach remained unmoved.

Neither coach nor skipper cared to attend the post-match press conference.

... contd.