NEW DELHI: The battered image of Indian hockey will undergo the litmus test at the Beijing Asian games in a month’s time.
The downward trend in Indian men’s hockey from the once dizzying heights set in more than a decade ago, but reached its nadir at the last Asiad.
For the first time since the 1958 Tokyo Games, when the men’s competitions were added to the Asian Games, India did not figure in the final and had to settle for a humiliating bronze medal.
The determined South Koreans, hosts in 1986, came to the forefront and threatened to become the third force in Asia, along with “Asian Giants” India and Pakistan,
The only consolation at Seoul was that Pakistan had to settle for the silver but when the matches begin on September 23, at the Beijioa Hockey field, India can aim for nothing less than the gold to confirm participation at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
India can heave a big sigh of relief for being placed in group B defending champions South Korea, China and Hong Kong, according to information available here.
Most experts felt that India could be placed in the same group as Pakistan, runners up at Seoul. Pakistan is in group A with Malaysia, Japan and Singapore.
Whatever be the order of matches, the Indian team led by experienced defender Pargat Singh, can expect to top the pool and avoid meeting archrival Pakistan before the final.
Any slackness in the league phase, especially against South Korea and hosts China can prove dangerous. Though India beat China by one goal and thrashed South Korea by five goals to nil in the Asia Cup hockey here last December, these teams can be troublesome,
South Korea were roundly defeated by India’s second string while winning the Indira Gandhi International Gold Cup in March at Lucknow. But, the current squad, a mixture of those who played in the Lahore World Cup and Lucknow, lacks vital match practice since its return from the seven nation BMW trophy in June.
South Korea sent its coach Kim Sang Ryul to watch the leading teams at Lahore and in July toured Australia where it lost a two test series against the 1986 world cup champions. The margin of defeat being 20 and 50.
Not much is known about China but the home squad can be assured of the crowd support where it plays in Beijing. Hong Kong figures in the tournament after 1978.
After 1986, Pakistan made a phenomenal recovery to be runner-up in 1990 world cup and tap be assured of success facing Malaysia and Japan whom it beat 41 and 20 3
Among the eight teams in the men’s section only India and Pakistan have had the maximum exposure against better rated European squads.
India, which seemed to have had a mental block against Pakistan after the defeat in Asia Cup final, got over it with a resounding. Win in the BMW tournament at Amstelveen in June.
The tournament came as an eye-opener for the Indian team whose tussle with the hockey federation nearly wrecked the whole structure of the game in the country.
Not much was expected of the team under Pargat Singh’s stewardship at Amstelveen but it shocked Olympic champion Britain and beat Pakistan. Among the defeats the one at the hands of West Germany was very narrow (34).
On the other hand, Pakistan lost just to India in the third fixture and held Australia. It recorded victories against rest of the five teams and ran Australia close when the title went the latter’s way.
At present, Pakistan is the biggest hurdle India has to cross to win the gold at the Asian games but surprises enrooted for either team cannot be ruled out and they are certainly not rare in sports.
Coming to the women’s squad, the Indian team got the approval from the government after some improved performances at the Beijing international tournament in June.
The team finished third behind China and Japan which gave it the breather and a chance to be there again next month.
The women’s competition at the games is slated to begin on “September 24 and has six teams. The round robin format means China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Singapore and India play each other once, with the topper taking the gold.
India bagged the first gold medal when the women’s event was introduced in the 1982 New Delhi games when it was played on the grass for the last time.
At Seoul, the synthetic surface came in and India found. Itself struggling against the tougher built women from South Korea and Japan, who won the gold and silver respectively. India got the bronze.
China, Singapore and North Korea did not figure at Sequl while Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong are absent in Beijing.
South Korea and Japan are certainly the top two teams of the continent and they reconfirmed their status in qualifying for the world cup hockey ahead of India when the tournament was staged in New Delhi.
In Beijing, China will be the third tough team. Apart from the advantage of playing at home, the sturdy Chinese have shown more stamina to sustain the hard play the game demands on synthetic turf.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 7, 1990
