Missing: Local Sporting Heroes

The demise of the Indian Hockey team in Chile has been documented well enough, causing a furore among the masses as all of us shake our heads in disbelief and lament about the situation as we work, have a cup of tea or hang from trains! Hockey’s fall from grace doesn’t come about as a major surprise as the failure to qualify in a major tournament was bound to happen. But for the people who have closed their ears and eyes till now with their sporting circle dominated by a single sport-cricket it’s a sign of how inferior the game has become compared to their the almighty sport. The team at Chile didn’t do as bad as they are showcased. Plummeting Mexico by a score line of 18-1, they narrowly lost to Great Britain 3-2. But in the finals, they lost to them. Qualification is tough and the average person is acting flabbergasted. Why? They haven’t seen the team play even on TV, but they are the first to come and point fingers at some lads who have played their heart out. The facilities are bad, officials are corrupt and unfortunately they are the ones having the highest powers. Indian hockey has been in dire straits since a long time now, but their highest low unfortunately came at a time when cricket is at its all time high. That is the reason may be for the stick that the hockey team has received. Beating Australia is the past, the IPL is arriving in full swing and within a months time, billions of cricket lovers would be glued to their TV sets watching cricketers slug it out for the sake of money and for a game of cricket too. The IPL seems to be the final nail on the coffin not only for hockey but for all other sports in India. The failure of the PHL, or even the I-league for the couch potato is a chilling remark to all the sport broadcasters as the Indian couch potato asserts where their priorities lie as far as watching sport on TV is concerned. Hockey has been inflicted by three great losses recently. The first one, obviously the disappointment of not making it to Beijing. The second one - Viren Rasquinha retiring in his mid-twenties and pursuing a management degree. A midfield general, his retirement surely magnifies the great slide Indian Hockey or rather Indian Sport is taking which has to be resurrected before it’s too late. Well the third is fictional yet true as Cricket has hijacked India’s screen coach and its theme song-Chak De! As if we weren’t sure that cricket is the most popular sport in the country. The IPL will definitely boost the morale of youngsters taking up sport as realistic profession but what about the other sports lurking in the dark? It’s a frightening thought if our city doesn’t produce good sportsmen or women in any other sport. Mumbai has seen some prolific sport personalities in the past, but the talent coming through is incredibly low as to the huge number of kids who play sports in schools and colleges. The city has a pool of talent and huge potential but many aspiring hockey, football; badminton players are left disillusioned seeing the apathy of the respective games. Parental pressure or pursuing education apart, there isn’t enough money or fame in these games causing many to bring a premature end to their short stints at schools and colleges. Although the city has only one astro turf for hockey, things are changing swiftly. The infrastructure is improving slowly yet steadily enough and pretty soon there should be noticeable changes. Mumbai has good tennis courts at the Bhupathi Academy and Tennis is catching up with the urban youth. Football’s market value is rising exponentially and it’s a big hit among the teens. Sadly despite having two clubs in the I-League the city lacks a decent football stadium, while, cricket has three (including the new D.Y. Patil). The new Mumbai FC has got an overwhelming response to their trials and football is one sport that is surely earmarked for future success. But, the city has to been more generous in giving the nation players in Athletics, Basketball, Badminton, Table Tennis et al. All these sports deserve their fare share of importance and we the people have to be unbiased when it comes to following a sport and supporting the youngsters who want to make it big in these games. Otherwise we have only ourselves to blame and no one else. The foundation of a strong sporting nation has to be laid now. We have an enormous strength of man power, let’s utilize it and not hang our heads in shame when our hockey team or football team fails to make it big. Even young girls should be encouraged to take up sport. It was highlighted well in a recent bollywood flick, but the torch seems to be fading away in a heavy mist of Cricketing Glory. Cricket has seen bad times too; when the nation is outraged with the team’s performance; but when the good times come in, people forget about everything else and cricketers cash in to leave their fellow countrymen wondering what they have done wrong to endure such a horrendous fate. Imagine if MS Dhoni, captain of the team had continued playing football! Would he be as big an icon as he is today? You’re guess is as good as mine.