‘Basically, policemen have to leave the system . . . (for hockey to improve)’

KUNAL PRADHAN: With India’s failure to qualify for the Olympics, all of a sudden, hockey has been in focus. Is there a silver lining in this loss? Does it give us a chance to rectify past wrongs?

M.K. KAUSHIK: A loss can never be a silver lining: nobody wants to lose, everybody wants to play the Olympics. Everyone is dejected, disappointed. I watched the last match against England with the entire women’s team; we had bought sweets to distribute after the match. We never expected the team to lose. The way the team was playing, I thought we would do well. As a coach, after studying and analysing the videotapes and the opponents, I think we could have won the match. We deserved to win. But the way we played against England was disappointing. So this is a very bad sign for hockey.

KUNAL PRADHAN: Everyone talks of how this one match against England cost us a place in the Olympics. But should we not be asking why it came down to winning this one match? Why didn’t India qualify in the first place? Do you think the system is to blame?

KUNAL PRADHAN: Do you think the people who are running hockey in the country are not honestly trying to improve hockey?

M.K. KAUSHIK: I think our president understands the system well. He understands what needs to be done but the follow-up is not up to the mark.

KUNAL PRADHAN: Do you see that what has happened now is the result of a general decline or are things really different from what they used to be during your playing days?

M.K. KAUSHIK: Hockey has been on the decline for a long ime. Mr K.P.S. Gill has been president of the federation for 14 years. When we were winning, we defeated many tough opponents; the opponents used to have to prepare hard before playing India. They videotaped our training camp sessions and used them to prepare for matches. We have not been planning well. For the last 20 years, all the momentum has been coming from European nations.

... contd.