By blaming Pargat Singh for India’s hockey defeat in the last round robin league encounter of the Beijing Asian Games against Pakistan, Mr GufraneAzam, Vice President of the Indian Hockey Federation, has unnecessarily made himself a butt of ridicule.
With the sole exception of Mr. J.S. Saini, chief athletic coach, one has not come across any sports official of the country who has taken the moral responsibility for recurring failure of Indian sportsmen and women in international competitions, both at home and abroad.
Mr GufraneAzam belongs to that group of sports officials which believes that it does “no wrong” and all failures are because of sportspersons’ shortcomings and faults.
Unfortunately, Mr Gufrane Azam was the manager of the team during the Beijing Asian Games and had no time to learn about the hairline fracture injury on the left side floating rib of the team captain. The other team officials, including the doctor, took Pargat Singh to an acupressure specialist to relieve him of the pain. The ace deep defender was given a couple of pain killing injections and made fit to play the match, a crucial one.
Everyone who followed hockey Reports in newspapers must be aware of the difference of opinion Pargat Singh and the team coach, Mr Jhaman Lal Sharma, had over the substitution of right winger Ram Parkash Singh. Pargat Singh was unhappy at the substitution.
Leave aside his happiness or unhappiness, the important point is who made the substitution. If Ram Parkash could be withdrawn midway in the game, why the team officials sitting on the sidelines not replaced Pargat Singh after he failed to convert first two of the four penalty corners he took? These team officials included Mr GutraneAzam. Mr Azam must know that it is easy to raise a finger at anyone but difficult to take a right decision at a crucial moment of a match, The memories of the 1982 ‘Asian Games hockey final played at the National Stadium, Delhi, are still painfully fresh in everybody’s mind. Balbir Singh (senior), the then coach cum manager of the team, had failed to replace Mir Ranjan Negi in the Indian goal after the Pakistani forward line went on a scoring spree. Mr Balkishan Singh was criticised for not making substitutions in the crucial match against Germany in the Los Angeles Olympic Games. The draw denied India a place in the semifinals.
Further one would like to ask Mr Azam, Chairman of the selection committee of the L.H.F what prompted him to pack four full backs in the Beijing Asian Games hockey team.
The same Chairman picked a team for the seventh World Cup which went to Lahore with two fullbacks alone. There was not a single substitute fullback. What would have happened if one of the two fullbacks. Had got injured at Lahore. In one team there are more halfbacks and lesser fullbacks and in the other the position is reverse. Why cannot we have regular players for each berth? Now when everything is lost the Chairman of the selection committee of the LH.F. Suddenly wants to go for talent hunting? By the way what had he been doing for the past 10 years?
Does he have a word of praise for the same Pargat Singh who agreed to continue to play at Lahore World Cup despite heavily surcharged anti-Indian atmosphere there? The F.I.H. has recommended the Fair Play Trophy to India for that kind gesture.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 16, 1990
