Saluting a living legend

HE WAS born in the year of the `infamous' (from Indian point of view) Jallianwala Bagh massacre of the pre- Independence days in 1919. So, it was not surprising to see the fragile 82- year-old Dharam Singh turn emotional at the mention of the decline of hockey in the country. The full-back, who was a member of the Indian team which won the 1952 Helsinki Olympics gold, could have easily reconciled himself to a laidback approach in the evening of his life. But his love for the sport which makes him watch the hockey matches in Chandigarh every evening even now states the obvious and the understandable - where his heart is.

For someone who played when the sub-continent reigned supreme for a long, long time in the 40's and 50's, it was a disturbing sight to see Dharam Singh recollect those golden days and compare with the low Indian hockey had hit of late with a tinge of disappointment. ``I sincerely believe that the frequent change in the style of game (from traditional to total concept) virtually ruined the game,'' he says distinctly. ``That was the biggest bane of the sport. We could never really recover from these avoidable experiments,'' he says. ``Let us not forget that no one can match either Pakistanis or Indians when they are in the mood with their good old style of play with four forwards and four backs. We toyed with the best of defences and I can't understand why we cannot do it now. We should stick to our original style,'' he explained. ``I still believe that superior skill is preferable to just speed and stamina. At the best, we should strive to blend both and not just emphasis on the fitness aspect alone,'' he pointed out.

For a change, Dharam Singh, who was in Hyderabad to be with his only son, Maj. G. S. Gill, who incidentally was amongst the reserves for the Junior World Cup in 1980s, doesn't believe that there is a surfeit of class amongst the seniors. ``Let us be practical. No one can mould a player when he is already playing for the country. The effort should begin in the under-14 age category,'' he pointed out. ``And, I just can't understand the utility of these training camps running almost throughout the year. During our playing days, we had just two or three weeks of camps and that was good enough for us,'' he recalled.

Significantly, Dharam Singh puts the blame on the players for the decline. ``Everyone should be sincere to himself and then to the coach and nation. There is no point in fooling around while training. It's time for extra effort by the few prominent players to bring back memories of the golden era,'' he says with all hope. He reminds how Dutch superstar Paul Litjens carved a niche for himself through sheer dedication and hard work. ``Look at the results he produced. So, I always get a feeling that most of these players will be fit only during camps and not in match conditions,'' he felt. Well, he should know what he speaks for he was the national coach when India won the 1964 Tokyo Olympics beating Pakistan 1-0. Ironically, it took another 16 years for India to regain the gold in Moscow Olympics and even that team was moulded by Dharam Singh.

The oldest surviving hockey Olympian feels it is imperative for the Indian Hockey Federation to start more Academies and more inter-school and inter-college tournaments at zonal and national levels. ``The more the exposure to the talented youngsters the better are the chances to groom a talented side,'' he said. For one who rubbed shoulders with some of the best like Balbir Singh Senior, Udham Singh and Tarlochan Singh ever to grace the hockey grounds, Dharam Singh feels that the poor penalty-corner conversion can be attributed to the absence of a clean hitter. ``I think after the late Surjit Singh who was a wordclass specialist in this department, there was no one around of his talent. This is a big lacunae. No doubt the protective gear of the goalkeeper is a major hindrance now-a- days,'' he added. About the remedy, the ageing gentleman points out that it will be good if the task is assigned to someone and mould him into a specialist instead of the job changing hands.

He played in an era for the sheer delight and pride of being part of history and when they were paid nothing. ``Now there is so much of money thanks to Mr. K.P.S. Gill, president of IHF. The onus is on the players to perform and reap the benefits,'' he points out. He cites the success of Koreans as a shining example of the culmination of intense dedication and determination to win at the highest level. ``They should be role models atleast in physical training aspect if not the game. For if you maintain peak fitness half the battle is won for the sub-Continent players always had a touch of class around them,'' he says. And, he doesn't believe that there is too much of politics in selection of national team. ``Remember, one can never hide a weak player on the field in the game of hockey for he will get exposed,'' he added.

Referring to the changing rules and umpiring, Dharam Singh believes that the new rules and the foreign umpires are mostly biased against the sub-continent teams. ``This has been going on for ages now,'' he says. On the Sydney Olympics, he says that there is always hope for a medal if not a certainty. He does agree that there is vast improvement by the other countries but also emphasises the fact that in contrast there is a decline of the game here. ``You can't blame the foreigners for improving by leaps and bounds without making due efforts on your home front,'' he remarked. About foreign coach, he counters by saying what will a coach do if the player has no talent and the urge to excel. ``There are a number of Olympians and internationals in the country who can handle the job very efficiently,'' he added.

Reflecting on his own career which was dotted with some extraordinary achievements like representing Punjab in the senior Nationals for 18 years from 1942, playing for `united sub- continent' before partition, Dharam Singh cherishes the Helsinki gold the most. ``We beat Holland in the final and it was an unforgettable experience,'' he says with justifiable pride. Another gold-medal winning performance of the Indian team with Dharam Singh as the coach gives him great satisfaction. ``We had a long two-and-a-half month tour to New Zealand, Malaysia before going to Tokyo.'' In the Olympics we began our campaign with two draws but as the event progressed our boys peaked. The forward line comprising Harbinder Singh, Joginder Singh was irresistible. We beat Pakistan in the final when `stick' rule was abolished for the first time in a major event,'' he recalls. That was the match when there was an unruly incident with some of the Pakistanis attacking the Indian players. There was an interruption and our manager I. M. Mahajan couldn't bear the tension and was enquiring about the progress of the contest from outside the stadium. But, I was very confident that it would be our day and it turned out to be in the end, he explained.

Critics say that it was Dharam Singh who invented the `scoop' from `D' to `D'. Such was his precision and power in making timely clearances as the key defender. For one who achieved so much there is definitely a feeling of being ignored too. He has the credit of producing five world class full-backs (Prithpal Singh, Dharam Singh Jr, Surjit Singh, Devinder Singh and Rajinder Singh) who went onto play for the country and yet his services were never really recognised. A palpable sense of dejection is evident when questioned whether he missed anything in his life. He doesn't say it in too many words but it is pretty clear that he deserved the prestigious Dronacharya Award given to the best coach in Indian sports.

V. V. SUBRAHMANYAM

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