The Hindu : A litmus test for Rajinder & co.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 20, 2002

Sport

Sport - Hockey

A litmus test for Rajinder & co.

By S. Thyagarajan

Dilip Tirkey

CHENNAI MAY 19. Back in quest for regaining the hockey image that lies devastated after the nightmare of a World Cup at Kuala Lumpur less than three months ago, India sails to Australia to test its mettle again in the twin four-nation tournaments at Adelaide and Melbourne between May 30 and June 9.

Optimism is an enduring elixir and the administration hopes that a turning point to the sequence of bad performances will emerge sometime and somewhere before India takes the challenge in the elite zone, the Champions Trophy at Cologne in August-September, and then the defence of the gold in the Asiad at Pusan.

There cannot be a more defining moment for Dilip Tirkey in his splendid career lasting around eight years now than leading the challenge. Suave, soft-spoken and skilful, Tirkey, with two Olympics and World Cups behind him, not to speak of the cornucopia of international matches over the years, has the requisite experience and expertise to shoulder the responsibility thrust on him. More than anyone, Dilip Tirkey will be aware that what he is wearing is only a crown of thorns. Tirkey's elevation has an historical perspective too. He is the second adivasi leading the national team, and this honour comes to him after a gap of 75 years, the first was Jaipal Singh who led India in India's first hockey Olympics in 1928 at Amsterdam. Tirkey may not be as lucky as Jaipal Singh to have such stalwarts as Dhyan Chand, Penniger and Cullen in the squad, but he has a generous measure of junior talent that won the World Cup at Hobart last year. And he should inspire that bunch to show that the Cup victory at Hobart was no fluke.

Expectedly, there is a complete overhaul of the World Cup squad that did little credit for the country despite possessing the strength to finish much higher than the 10th it eventually did at Kuala Lumpur. The recall of the three junior stars, skipper Gagan Ajit Singh, Vikram Pillay and Bimal Lakra, can be described as a logical step as does the return to the ranks of Sameer Dad and Dinesh Nayak. Going into what went wrong with the composition of the squad for the World Cup at this juncture is as irrelevant as talking of India's eight gold medal wins in the Olympics or the triumph in the 1975 World Cup. What needs emphasis is the importance of taking pragmatic solutions, which do not evoke media outrage as the decision on Cedric D'Souza did at Kuala Lumpur. Devesh Chauhan is the inevitable choice as goal-keeper after the exit from the scene of Jude Menezes following the World Cup. In fact, Devesh had a few games at the World Cup when Jude proved woefully inadequate. A confident goal-keeper who makes timely saves constitutes more than 50 per cent of the team's overall performance in a match. Devesh too has had considerable exposure on the international scene and should grow up in stature from now by the sheer weight of his performances.

Dinesh Nayak will certainly add to the strength of the defence but invariably his enthusiasm gets the better of judgement. His errors have proved costly quite a few times in the none too distant past. Still, as a firm tackler and a surprise hitter in penalty corners, he can be useful. Along with Tirkey, he can form a fine pair. Jugraj gets the third spot more for his ability to convert penalty corners through drag flicks. It must be stressed here that both Tirkey and Jugraj are competent takers and this should help the team.

In terms of collective experience nothing eloquent can be said of the mid-field, the most strategic area in the composition. Minus Sukhbir Singh Gill, the rest of the lot is young, energetic and enthusiastic, but should be tested in trying conditions.

The presence of another senior like Tirumal would have provided the balance. Bimal Lakra, Vikram Pillay, and Ignace Tirkey possess the inherent talent to make it big and the twin events should give them that exposure.

In the absence of Dhanraj Pillay and Baljit Singh Dhillon, the star content in the frontline is invisible. The return of Sameer Dad after the 2000 Olympics lends a measure of experience to the otherwise talented young brigade, in which the focus will be on the controversial World Cup discard, Gagan Ajit Singh. A combination of Tejbir Singh, Deepak Thakur, Gagan Ajit Singh, Sameer Dad and Prabhjot Singh can be an effective weapon if there is a well-oiled systematisation to the attack against such strong defences as Korea and Australia. More than anything, the twin tournaments are a litmus test to the chief coach, Rajinder Singh, and his assistant, Sodhi, basking in the aftermath of the junior World Cup triumph.

But no one would be more alive to what hockey is at the senior level to what it was at Hobart than Rajinder Singh. This is also the time for Rajinder Singh to assure the fraternity that he is not merely a coach with loads of luck, but one who can script strategies to outwit those framed by master craftsmen parading as sophisticated system analysts, who thrive on theories, blackboards and video rooms.

As a penalty corner hitter, who topped the list of scorers with 12 goals at the 1982 World Cup in Mumbai, and as one who scripted the memorable victory against Pakistan in the1982 Champions Trophy at Amstelveen with a hat-trick, Rajinder Singh cannot be questioned on credentials.

What he must endeavour now is to show that when goals are scored and matches won, strategies and systems automatically fall in place and may even become superficial. In fact, they do not come as a talking point.

Clearly, there is no substitute to skill, and that is what the Indian players should realise at this juncture.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport