A young and strong Sikh hailing from Methapur in Punjab, Pargat Singh has been one of the best players of India for quite some time now. Making his debut in the 10-nation Hong Kong Tournament, he has so far starred in 141 international tournaments. An unshakeable defender, Pargat has consistently proved his capabilities by holding together a floundering side a team ridden by dirty politics and low morale, In a free and frank interview, Pargat talks about himself and Indian hockey, Excerpts:
Q: How did you enter the world of hockey?
A: That’s a very long story. My village, Methapur, is quite famous for hockey. Three Olympians hail from this place, thus a hockey culture dwells in our village. So, my interest in hockey is not at all surprising. I started playing this game when I was about six years old.
Q: Who is your idol?
A: The fantastic mastery of Surjeet Singh has been my inspiration, When he was at his peak, I had the opportunity to watch him play. I learnt many tactics from him and started putting in more hard work.
Q :In the recent years, India’s performance has not been up to the mark. Why?
A: The system in the country has been deformed by mismanagement and corruption, The Sports Authority of India promises a lot but never fulfills them, all it wants is excellent results. How can players perform well when they are not given the necessary facilities? Our daily allowance (off season) is just about R.s 50 per day. So how can one afford a healthy diet and look after his physical fitness properly. The kits that we get are often of a very bad quality. Good equipment’s enhance the ability of a player, Styles and techniques of hockey have changed and in order to keep pace with such changes, we need extra facilities. But no such efforts have been made by the management. Many a time we have to take to the field using our personal kits as the official package does not arrive on time.
Q: Have the players taken any positive sleeps to provide a panacea?
A:For the all-round development in standards, there has to be improvements in the basic facilities and training. To ensure this, we have formed the All India Players” Association. The Ministry of Sports has been very understanding and has agreed to look into our problems amicably. But the Indian Hockey Federation has not been very happy about it.
Q: What about coaching, playing conditions and other factors?
A: Our coaches, frankly speaking, are not quite good. Excepting a few, most of them lack exposure. They are not well acquainted with the latest techniques and attacking strategies which have changed since their playing days.
Q: But Pakistan, for that matter, has performed better than India in the recent years?
A: International matches held in Pakistan are always studded with anti-India demonstrations and slogan shouting which affect our boys psychologically. International hockey has a lot of dirty politics too. The Pakistan Federation has more influence in international hockey than the Indian Hockey Federation.
Q: But aren’t the Pakistani players talented too?
A: OF course they are, but talent is not everything. They are given better facilities, their training schedules are more rigorous and their coaches are much more dedicated. Moreover, compared to our players, the Pakistanis are better off, job-wise. In India, there is a lot of talent, but seeing the poor conditions in hockey, many prefer to shift to cricket which is more profitable in the Jong run.
Q: Are there any faults in India’s playing Strategies?
A: Yes, I think so. We still follow the 5-32combination which is almost extinct now. This combination has a lot of drawbacks. A full-back cannot cross the 35X yard-line, Thus if I want to score a goal and even get an Opportunity to do so, ‘I cannot. Our coaches and officials refuse to understand the faults lying in this style. The officials should assign professional video makers to record our movements so: that after the match we can study. Our faulty movements and rectify them.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 26, 1991
