Chachu's column #12: Of Sporting Stars "Dhanraj" and "Dravid"

Strange are the ways of the world. A man is awarded the best player in a tournament that is one of the premier international tournaments. But this achievement doesn't even find a mention in the leading newspapers. On the other hand, a double century scored in a drawn match in a drawn series gets front-page news and photograph. This is step motherly treatment to the former. But then who said life is fair.

So in this unfair world, let us stop innuendoes and come to the point. The 24th Champions trophy hockey concluded recently at Cologne, Germany. The event generated lot of interest among Indians because India was taking part in the tournament after a gap of many years. Champions trophy is a annual hockey tournament in which only top six teams of the world take part. Given the fact that only the best fight for the trophy, the event is viewed to be more exalted than the World Cup or Olympics. This time Germany, Holland, Australia, Pakistan, Korea, and India were the teams in fray. India’s best performance in the tournament till date was a bronze medal, that too two decades back. Given the strong opposition and an unfavorable pedigree, a good performance in the tournament meant a lot to India, a team that was trying its best to be back among the best.

The prelude to the tournament couldn't have been worse for India. India came last in the four nation Rabobank hockey tournament held at Amstelveen, Holland fews days before Champions trophy. The tournament was won by hosts Holland followed by Australia and Korea. Since all the three teams were taking part in Champions trophy (besides Germany and Pakistan), a last position at this tournament meant that India's chances in Champions trophy too were very slim.

However, in a remarkable turnaround, the first match saw India drawing against Holland 3-3, a team to which it had lost 2-5 only days back. India could have even won the match had it not conceded a last minute goal. Conceding last minutes goals became India's bane as this disturbing feature continued till its last match. In the next match, India repeated its mistake to lose to Germany 2-3. Germany on the other hand showed remarkable fighting strength and won 3-2 against India, Pakistan, and Australia by scoring last minute goals.

A solitary point in two matches did not augur well for India. The team that stood last was relegated from tournament and a new team was given chance. If India was relegated, it would have to wait for many years to gain entry. India's fortunes changed when in the next match it won 3-2 against Australia. But this win was not without its tensed moments as India conceded many penalty corners in the dying moments. Only a great goal keeping by Divesh Chauhan helped India maintain its lead. In the next match too, India continued its good form and won 3-2 against archrivals Pakistan.
With seven points from four matches, India had an outside chance of qualifying for the finals. But the calculation, as usually happens with India, did not prove favorable and the result of the next two matches meant that Germany and Holland qualified for the final. In an inconsequential match against Korea, India lost 2-4 in its last league match.

In the final standings after the league stage, India and Pakistan came third and fourth respectively to set up the bronze medal clash. Since India had won the first match, I had a gut feeling that India would lose this time. However, some fine conversions meant India leading 3-1 against Pakistan till the 53rd minute. But the lament that India lacks killer instinct proved to be true as India allowed Pakistan to score three goals in a matter of just five minutes. And from a score line of 3-1, much to the dismay and nightmare of Indian hockey fan, the scoreline read 3-4 after five minutes. The score line remained the same till the end as the hooter saw Pakistan fans cheering the victory of their team when it mattered most. "India loses when it mattered most" was what the next day's headlines screamed.

Coming to the analysis, I found India's shedding some of its perennial problems. The trapping of hockey ball was quite good and some of the counter attacks were breathtaking, especially the last goal against Holland. The passes were also short and quick. Penalty corner conversion was also decent with stars Jugraj Singh and Dilip Tirkey coming good on several occasions. Forwards Gagan Ajit Singh and Sandeep Thathur also showed lot of promise. The fact that most of the members were young and below twenty-two years of age implied that India is building a young hockey team that can serve India for many years.

However, the problem areas still remain; the biggest being the inability to consolidate upon lead and to come under heavy pressure from the opposition. The discipline was also lacking, especially in the last match against Korea. The highlight of India's foray in the competition was the award of "Best Player of the tournament" to India's mercurial forward Dhanraj Pillay. His ability to beat at least two or three defenders was a sight to watch. Now, that he is reaching 35, it is time the youngsters took his mantle and carry the responsibility forward. The tragic part of the award was that it was left for Dhanraj to proclaim himself in a featured article in Times of India that he authors that he had won the coveted award. All this happened while Dravid's double ton at Oval and ICC contract row hogged most of the attention and front page news. For once I do not wish to glorify the double century and let the talking on cricket to be done by someone else.