Others like former captain Pargat Singh, who asked IHF officials to take moral responsibility and step down, said this was waiting to happen. “It was not surprising that the team failed to qualify for the Olympics. It was expected,” he said.

As former players, fans and leaders demanded that he wake up and smell the coffee, Gill, oddly enough, spoke about making some and refused to resign. “We do not have an instant coffee machine that you can get results instantly. It takes time to regain your position. We have put the process in place and the results will take some time,” he said. Gill has been in charge of the IHF for 15 years now.

IHF vice-president N K Batra, a vocal critic of Gill, stepped down from his post and called for the resignation of the entire top brass. “It is a shame for us that we lost and that is why I have resigned. I cannot work in a body where our president K P S Gill doesn’t listen to us. It’s not just me, I think everyone should resign. It’s not the players who are to be blamed for this defeat, it’s the federation,” he said.

While the reactions — ranging from anger to resentment to plain disgust — are understandable, the Santiago failure has come as no surprise because Indian hockey, experts pointed out, hasn’t suddenly tripped. If nothing else, it has seemed to march purposefully towards exactly this kind of a disaster.

In Athens four years ago, the team finished 11th among 12 teams. They then failed to make the podium at the Asian Games — one of the reasons they had to play these last-ditch qualifiers in the first place.

... contd.