RIC CHARLESWORTH
Former Australian hockey player and coaching great; technical adviser, Indian Hockey
‘India needs to raise its coaching standards’
India’s failure to qualify for the Olympics is very disappointing. It is a big shock for the sport, but let’s be honest, it has been coming for some time. But looking ahead, it is imperative that we look at what has happened as a catalyst for good change, take it as the point from where things can’t get worse, and can only get better. But hoping doesn’t serve the purpose.
The absence of long-term planning has been the bane of Indian hockey for very long now. Now, that India have not qualified for Beijing, we need to focus on the London Games that will be held four-and-a-half years from now. If you can achieve something in between now and 2012, it will be great. But the focus has to be absolute and always on London, because that can be the only real answer to this debacle.
India needs to pool in all its resources and raise its coaching standards. It is in dire need of a very strong leadership, who will put in place a plan and stick to it throughout.
The International Hockey Federation’s ‘Promoting Indian Hockey’ programme needs to be adhered to. The team needed more exposure and experience ahead of the qualifiers. There were other things that needed to be rectified, and through this programme I was in the process of identifying them. It’s a long haul ahead, but India will come out of it, if it is committed to doing what is best for itself.

Adi Godrej
Chairman, Godrej Group
‘Government should have little to do with sports federations’
What we need is a total revamp of the system and strong leadership helming our progress from now on. There is always talk in all organisations for bold, young Turks to take over, but I don’t believe that young blood is necessary or critical for success. However, it has been established that a good team—a complete and competent team—needs to be in place to start a change, hence an overhaul of the administration might not be a bad idea.
I’ve always found in the past that sports bodies in India are badly infested with politics. The government should have very little to do with sports federations, ideally. It is not the government’s job to look after sports, and in the best-possible scenario, they should have minimum participation in the day-to-day or even long-term affairs of sport. They can at best be facilitators to the process of rebuilding now. Frankly, there should be an independent authority like the regulators we have for finance or telecom, who should be overseeing the management of sports in India. It is not the government’s job.
It is an unfortunate situation that hockey has landed itself in, but the most important thing is everybody’s resolve to get out of this mess. A willingness on the part of everyone to do whatever it takes. Clear thinking from top to bottom will help, so will the ability of the leadership to analyse their failures well and objectively.

Viren Rasquinha Former captain, Indian hockey team
‘We need younger selectors well-versed with modern hockey’
Because we had been qualifying for all these years, we had failed to see the truth: that we were in gradual decline. But through the last few years, we’ve done a few things right. The Premier Hockey League is perhaps the best thing to happen to Indian hockey. Only, now it should be expanded. It would be fantastic if we can have a similar PHL for juniors. Also, just one PHL over a short period of one month in the whole of the year is absolutely not enough. We need a longer, sustained schedule so that it’s not restricted to being a one-off affair in a year.
Also, we need to do something to take it out of one city. Because it is played out at one stretch and held at just one venue, we are missing out on a huge live-audience. A tournament has a different buzz if it’s coming to your town—the organisers can think that over, and tweak it from here on. Also, I’d like to see the current international players helping out the U 16s and U 18s. What happens is that because our juniors are completely not exposed to international hockey, they tend to be clueless about things. If the seniors who are travelling abroad, seeing the latest techniques share their experiences with the colts, it’ll help. But this again, can only be done if the seniors take an initiative. You can’t obviously force someone to be helpful. Ironical as it sounds, it should be spontaneous.
It is time to introspect, definitely not the time to pass the buck, because that cycle will always continue and achieve little. We need younger selectors completely well-versed with modern hockey and its demands.
There isn’t one problem I can zero in on, whether it’s conceding last-minute goals or fitness or something. Cumulatively, a lot of small problems are adding up to the losses. Hockey still has a fine tradition in India, but if we can’t groom the talent, then it’s nothing short of a criminal waste. World hockey will miss India at the Olympics, but we first need to worry about setting our house straight. And start soon.