LAHORE: The humiliation suffered by India in the seventh World Cup Hockey here has exposed the antiquated and regimented training program chalked out by the Sports Authority of India and the Indian Hockey Federation for the promotion of the game in the country.

The re-emergence of the Netherlands as world hockey champions has proved that the game has changed dramatically and is now ore based on scientific thinking and planning rather than the set, old formulas with which hockey coaches in in India are obsessed.

The Indians could win only one match of the seven they played and that is a telling commentary on the state of hockey in the country.

From the very first match the Indians never looked like a winning combination and always caved in under pressure.

There was not a single forward, who could inspire confidence and in the final analysis it turned out to be a one man show Pargat Singh.

The versatile defender was the only redeeming feature in the entire team which got a thrashing from almost every side, including Ireland, who ended at the bottom of the 12 nation championship.

Apart from a poor forward line, India did not have any penalty corner specialist. In a championship like this penalty corner conversions make all the difference. A team which does have an expert in this field Starts with a tremendous handicap. This is exactly what happened to the former champions.

The Netherlands, who won the championship after a gap of 17 years, got 27 penalty corners and converted 11 (nine by Floris Bovlender) and had 41 percent conversions. India got 29 penalty corners but could convert only two with a conversion percentage of seven. This in itself shows the yawning gap between the champions and the Indians.

Floris Bovelender and his team also displayed the steely nerves which are essential for world class hockey, playing before a 60,000 strong partisan crowd in the final against hosts Pakistan.

The end of the championship was a big letdown for Pakistan as they failed to regain the Cup before their home crowd. So much build up was given to the Pakistani team that most players were given out of tum promotions by their employees after the semi-final on the assumption that Pakistan were going to claim the championship.

But the unassuming Dutch men proved them wrong, showing that though traditional Asian hockey might still have grace, it is the European brand of the game which is now dominant.

Besides Pakistan, Australia,

West Germany and England were the other fancied teams before the start of the championship. In view of this, it is creditable that the Netherlands, who made it to the World Cup after having to qualify in the Intercontinental Cup, proved al the pundits wrong and snatched the trophy back.

Ignacious Escude (Spain) and Floris Bovelander emerged as top scorers in the championship with 10 and nine goals, respectively once again underlining the importance of penalty corner experts in the contemporary game.

The first six teams the Netherlands, Pakistan, Australia, West Germany, England and the Soviet Union have qualified for the Champions Trophy, It will be tough going for the Indians to qualify for the Champions Trophy in the near future.

Article extracted from this publication >> March 16, 1990