Nov
22
Sundeep Misra
Thursday, November 22, 2007
While going through the reports of England crashing out of Euro 2008, losing to Croatia 2-3, I came across this paragraph in The Guardian that may well be written if India fails to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
What isn't forgivable is that English football has stagnated, allowing so, so many other countries to overtake it in terms of basic skills and intelligence. Tonight's Croatian demonstration at Wembley must serve as a wake-up call, just as Hungary's 6-3 win at the same venue in 1953 did in the past, for a while. It's time to bring in another foreigner. In fact, it's time to bring in lots of them: not just to coach the national team, but to share their knowledge at every level of the game in this country.
Kind of strikes home, doesn’t it?
Well, we all do wish that India goes through its group unbeaten (remember there is England too!) and jets its way to Beijing, India’s proud record of playing every Olympics remaining intact.
With China, Canada flying to the Champions Trophy to play a few friendly matches with the top nations and also watch and record the Champions Trophy, one wonders whether we are falling short of match play in the run up to the Qualifying. Joaquim Carvalho wouldn’t agree there. He does believe that he has a plan that would take India to the Olympics. We all do believe that India needs to beat England and they would be set for Beijing. So, basically, he needs to ensure that India beats England. Something like what happened last night; England needed to beat Croatia and qualify but lost 2-3.
England will not commit the same mistakes they did against us at the Champions Challenger in Boom, Belgium. In the first 19 minutes, India was up 4-0 and then scraped past a fighting English side 3-4 to win.
But the question one would really want to ask is – Does Ric Charlesworth play a role at all in the qualifying or would he be waiting in the wings to take over? A few officials did hint that if India fails to make it to Beijing, then Ric immediately takes over. And if India did make it to the Beijing Olympics, then Ric would either pick up the team then or wait for the Olympics to be over.
I don’t think anyone in Indian hockey wants a Ric vs. Carvalho spat. Carvalho had done a great job with the team, infusing it with confidence and ensuring medals at the tournaments it played. Ric’s credentials are not in doubt. Of course, you would hear voices like Charles Cornelius saying, “We don’t need Ric.” Cornelius should first answer why India after 1975 has never won a big tournament medal (Let’s not count the boycott ridden Moscow Olympics gold medal).
If India needs to really do well at the qualifying and in Beijing (if they qualify), we need Ric. Simply because of his credentials and that over a period of time, he has delivered. And not only in hockey as a player and a coach but also in cricket where New Zealand went to the semi-final of the 2007 World Cup and India lost in the group stage.
Joaquim would do well to take Ric into confidence and look at the job that would ensure India back on the world stage. But if Ric is going to treated as a rival/opponent, then we might as well say goodbye to the sport because even if we qualify by beating England in Chile, we all know where India would finish in Beijing!
Just to quote The Guardian again:
It's time to bring in another foreigner. In fact, it's time to bring in lots of them: not just to coach the national team, but to share their knowledge at every level of the game in this country.
In no way, is anybody suggesting that Ric is God but the answer to India’s demise lies in the detailing of the sport. At this point in time, there is no one but Ric who can chart a course through the mess that Indian hockey is in. There is really no point in opposing Ric and ensuring that he fails and then come up with a smart one, “Oh, we told you so.”
It is in the interest of sport, in the interest of Indian hockey that we all should will Ric to share his knowledge and ensure that India regains it’s top billing.
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