Once upon a time we were a force and now we are battling for the 10th to 12th position.
This is an interesting discussion. When we were a force, have a look at the team.
These are of India teams at 1928 Olympics and 1936 Olympics. Look at India players- You will find 3-4 Anglo Indians and 3-4 Muslims and 3-4 Hindu/Punjabi players. After 1947 Muslims went to Pakistan and Anglo Indians went to Australia. Aussie players are descendants of Anglo Indians. Ric Charlesworth family was from Lucknow. So basically India team became 3 teams-India, pakistan and Australia. Due to Second world war devastation, It took 2 decades for Europe to pick up but by late 60s, Germany, Holland were again force in Hockey. Once Astro-turf came in 1976 Montreal olympics, India struggled ever since. Last success for India at world level- World Cup 1975 Olympics 1980 (that also because of boycott) otherwise 1972 Munich Olypics Bronze medal Champions Trophy - 1982 Bronze.
Hockey is now being played only in some pockets of India. Punjab, Coorg area of Karnataka, Manipur, Christian population of Bombay, tribal land of Jharkhand and Orissa. Unless game picks up in other regions also, India hockey will not rise. talent pool is very limited.
This ethnicity based analysis is total crap. Only point that I would take home from that discussion is that the talent pool was divided between India and Pakistan. And due to departure of the Anglo-Indians, there were still lesser hockey enthusiasts left. Basically spreading the game to get more people to play is what is needed; not 3 Muslims, 3 Hindus and 3 Anglos
This ethnicity based analysis is total crap. Only point that I would take home from that discussion is that the talent pool was divided between India and Pakistan. And due to departure of the Anglo-Indians, there were still lesser hockey enthusiasts left. Basically spreading the game to get more people to play is what is needed; not 3 Muslims, 3 Hindus and 3 Anglos
But Anglo Indian players were there. They were players-not only enthusiasts. Very few remained-Leslie Claudius I can remember by 1960s. talent pool was divided between Hindu, Muslims, Sikhs and Anglo Indians. if you remove Muslims and Anglo-Indians- 60% of the talent pool is gone by 1950s. Ethnicity based analysis is just one perspective. Doordarshan TV spreaded the game of Cricket since 1982 when Colour TV first came to India. Hockey was hardly shown on TV as its best days were already behind it.
"The amounts eaten by the Indian champions were prodigious, and Barkat Ali gives, with what truth I don’t know, the mature Gama’s daily diet as six chickens or an extract of eleven pounds of mutton mixed with a quarter pound of clarified butter, ten litres of milk, half a litre of clarified butter, a pound and a half of crushed almond paste made into a tonic drink, along with fruit juice and other ingredients to promote good digestion. This expensive high fat, high energy, high everything diet helped to drive Gama’s daily training, which in maturity consisted of grappling with forty of his fellow wrestlers in the court, five thousand bethaks, and three thousand dands"
Whatever with the talent pool and religion and race, hell with it.
In that case India won gold at the Olympics 1964 Tokyo and 1980 Moscow. So were we divided into some bloody talent pool? India were on the Podium (Olympics) regularly since 1948 to 1980, bar the 1976 games. We didn't have angloIndians, Australians or British and there were no pools or whatever. The team was selected based on performance. It was after 1980 we completely messed up hockey. Blame that on the administration, the federation, politics, etc.
Whatever with the talent pool and religion and race, hell with it.
In that case India won gold at the Olympics 1964 Tokyo and 1980 Moscow. So were we divided into some bloody talent pool? India were on the Podium (Olympics) regularly since 1948 to 1980, bar the 1976 games. We didn't have angloIndians, Australians or British and there were no pools or whatever. The team was selected based on performance. It was after 1980 we completely messed up hockey. Blame that on the administration, the federation, politics, etc.
1980 Olympics Gold Medal was a joke. Australia, Germany, Holland and Pakistan were part of US led boycott. India just had to defeat Spain and USSR.
We got Bronze at 1968 and 1972 but by then we were no longer the best team in the world. 1975 World Cup victory Yes-we defeated everyone. Germany and Holland picked themselves by late 1960s as those countries were devastated in 2nd world war and it took them upto 2 decades to build again. My point is that we should not have this attitude that we were the best-that time is long gone. Probably 40 years. On Artificial turf our only success at World Level is Bronze medal at Champions Trophy in 1983.
It wasn't a joke, we still managed to win gold at the 1980 Olympics and too against Spain in the finals 4 -3.
The point is now we are not up there and not even in the top 5 but surely with a proper administration we can get back to where belonged within the next 5 to 10 years.
Comments
These are of India teams at 1928 Olympics and 1936 Olympics. Look at India players- You will find 3-4 Anglo Indians and 3-4 Muslims and 3-4 Hindu/Punjabi players. After 1947 Muslims went to Pakistan and Anglo Indians went to Australia. Aussie players are descendants of Anglo Indians. Ric Charlesworth family was from Lucknow. So basically India team became 3 teams-India, pakistan and Australia. Due to Second world war devastation, It took 2 decades for Europe to pick up but by late 60s, Germany, Holland were again force in Hockey.
Once Astro-turf came in 1976 Montreal olympics, India struggled ever since.
Last success for India at world level- World Cup 1975
Olympics 1980 (that also because of boycott) otherwise 1972 Munich Olypics Bronze medal
Champions Trophy - 1982 Bronze.
Hockey is now being played only in some pockets of India. Punjab, Coorg area of Karnataka, Manipur, Christian population of Bombay, tribal land of Jharkhand and Orissa. Unless game picks up in other regions also, India hockey will not rise. talent pool is very limited.
you are a genius in historic analysi ^:)^
Very few remained-Leslie Claudius I can remember by 1960s. talent pool was divided between Hindu, Muslims, Sikhs and Anglo Indians. if you remove Muslims and Anglo-Indians- 60% of the talent pool is gone by 1950s.
Ethnicity based analysis is just one perspective.
Doordarshan TV spreaded the game of Cricket since 1982 when Colour TV first came to India. Hockey was hardly shown on TV as its best days were already behind it.
You should look here:-
http://thetimeriver.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/anglo-indians-forgotten-chapter-of.html
Cricket is one sport that has been able to break the ethnicity barrier in India-except North East.
http://ejmas.com/jalt/jaltart_noble_0502.htm
I liked the part about diet of The Great Gama.
"The amounts eaten by the Indian champions were prodigious, and
Barkat Ali gives, with what truth I don’t know, the mature Gama’s daily
diet as six chickens or an extract of eleven pounds of mutton mixed with
a quarter pound of clarified butter, ten litres of milk, half a litre of
clarified butter, a pound and a half of crushed almond paste made into
a tonic drink, along with fruit juice and other ingredients to promote
good digestion. This expensive high fat, high energy, high everything diet
helped to drive Gama’s daily training, which in maturity consisted of grappling
with forty of his fellow wrestlers in the court, five thousand bethaks,
and three thousand dands"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_hockey_at_the_1980_Summer_Olympics
We got Bronze at 1968 and 1972 but by then we were no longer the best team in the world. 1975 World Cup victory Yes-we defeated everyone. Germany and Holland picked themselves by late 1960s as those countries were devastated in 2nd world war and it took them upto 2 decades to build again.
My point is that we should not have this attitude that we were the best-that time is long gone. Probably 40 years. On Artificial turf our only success at World Level is Bronze medal at Champions Trophy in 1983.
The point is now we are not up there and not even in the top 5 but surely with a proper administration we can get back to where belonged within the next 5 to 10 years.