Chakde Patte!!...Hip Hip Hurry...!!!, one of my friend exclaimed, flooded with exuberance. When I enquired what was the reason of his enthusiasm, he said,"Oi yaar, we have lost the Azlan Shah cup against Argentina in the extratime ....Isn't it great?.
His reaction summed up the feeling of a nation who has for years been waiting for such an occasion. It was like a man in the middle of Sahara was expressing his enthusiasm after seeing a drop of rain, which just touched his lips. Although it was not enough to quench his thrist, he was happy atleast there was a sign of winds of change.
Indian Hockey has been in the throes of uncertainty for too long. The disgrace that the team faced in all these years, especially after dominating the world for so many decades is a sore that can never hailed.
Its unfortunate that India's glorious past had actually preceded the television live coverage era, so nodoubt this generation doesn't have a clue about the illustratious time that India had enjoyed. But that was then.
At a time when BCCI, fighting over mega bucks are bullying around other sports, reluctant to share their dollar dreams with any other sport, it is heartening to see the young bloods nurturing the game with their heart, soul and blood.
India's last championship victory, was the Kuala Lumpur World Cup in 1975 and barring a couple of wins in between, the win against South Korea in the 7th Asia Cup in september last year was something to cheer about.
Plagued by a corrupted administration and handicapped by poor infrastructure and also the parochial approach of the authories in power, Hockey has been languishing in the ruins of its past glory for too long.
So given in this context, when a resurgent team, backed by a new ad hoc committee, went to the finals of the Azlan Shah tournamnet,it was enough for the lovers of the game to feel happy and on top of that, when India put up such a brilliant fight against one of the toughest teams, it was reason enough for some like my friend to break into a dance. No doubt, even the purveyor of the game showered praise on the team and hoped for the revival of our National game.
Well, if it really revives the sagging status of the sport in the country or not that is a different and too far fetched for the moment but atleast for the moment lets swing in the winds of change that has atleast started blowing across the horizon.
His reaction summed up the feeling of a nation who has for years been waiting for such an occasion. It was like a man in the middle of Sahara was expressing his enthusiasm after seeing a drop of rain, which just touched his lips. Although it was not enough to quench his thrist, he was happy atleast there was a sign of winds of change.
Indian Hockey has been in the throes of uncertainty for too long. The disgrace that the team faced in all these years, especially after dominating the world for so many decades is a sore that can never hailed.
Its unfortunate that India's glorious past had actually preceded the television live coverage era, so nodoubt this generation doesn't have a clue about the illustratious time that India had enjoyed. But that was then.
At a time when BCCI, fighting over mega bucks are bullying around other sports, reluctant to share their dollar dreams with any other sport, it is heartening to see the young bloods nurturing the game with their heart, soul and blood.
India's last championship victory, was the Kuala Lumpur World Cup in 1975 and barring a couple of wins in between, the win against South Korea in the 7th Asia Cup in september last year was something to cheer about.
Plagued by a corrupted administration and handicapped by poor infrastructure and also the parochial approach of the authories in power, Hockey has been languishing in the ruins of its past glory for too long.
So given in this context, when a resurgent team, backed by a new ad hoc committee, went to the finals of the Azlan Shah tournamnet,it was enough for the lovers of the game to feel happy and on top of that, when India put up such a brilliant fight against one of the toughest teams, it was reason enough for some like my friend to break into a dance. No doubt, even the purveyor of the game showered praise on the team and hoped for the revival of our National game.
Well, if it really revives the sagging status of the sport in the country or not that is a different and too far fetched for the moment but atleast for the moment lets swing in the winds of change that has atleast started blowing across the horizon.
No comments:
Post a Comment