In a way it is good that Ric has left. He was not wanted by anyone in the Hocckey admin. It was only at the behest of FIH that he was being thrust down the throats of Indian Hockey. Thee general feeling among all the administrators is that 'we have plenty of talent which only needs to be tweaked to to the Top'. I have watched some matches of the recently conluded champions Trophy as an Hockey lover ( although India was not involved). It was fairly obvious that other teams have come up leaps and bounds in terms of skill. Some of the skills they displayed will be hard for Indian players to emulate. As it is they stand nowhere in terms of Physique and Strenght of these european and Australian teams.India was great olympic Hockey nation when other countries barely knew how to play Hockey. Paradigm shift that Ric Charlseworth is talking about is one of the main issues that India Hockey is not ready to undertake.Other problem is the lack of Resources to support the kind of plan Ric envisages.
Re: OSTRICH AND INDIAN HOCKEY
by Gold Member on Dec 05, 2010 12:44 PM Permalink
I would have to disagree with you on many levels. firstly, i don't know what or who specifically you had in mind when you said that indian athletes 'stand nowhere in terms of physique and strength'. If we do, then I'm so thankful to Dhyan Chand's parents for providing him with such outstanding genetics and nutrition.
In the 1950s and 60s when indian football was one of the best in asia and not too far behind for an emerging country in world football, despite the fact that the athletes played barefoot, we didnt lack strength and physique did we(mind you back then the sport was way more physical and the ball itself was capable of giving you a brain haemorage if you headed it too much). you say that when india 'was a great olympic hockey nation other teams didnt know how to play hockey'. the problem with this argument is that india was a powerhouse in world hockey from around 1928 to say 1985. so according to your argument, the rest of the world miraculously managed to learn hockey(or drastically improve in terms of 'skill and physique') in 10-15 years, while our skills waned and our athletes quickly evolved into short skinny people.
Re: OSTRICH AND INDIAN HOCKEY
by Gold Member on Dec 05, 2010 01:08 PM Permalink
another thing that might interest you. This is Ric Charlesworth's opinion: "If hockey is played in Australia today, it is all because of India. Many Anglo-Indians migrated to Australia after the partition of India in 1947. The Pearce brothers, Eric, Julian, Mel and Gordon Pearce, migrated from Lucknow to Perth after independence, and have all represented Australia in the Olympics. They were pioneers of hockey in Australia. It is why I owe it to India for bringing in contect with this game.
“Eric played in 1956, '60 and '64, Gordon played in 1956 and '60, Mel played in 1956, and Julian played in 1960 and '64. Eric's daughter Colleen continued the tradition, representing Australia in the women's competition in the 1984 Los Angeles Games. An officer from Mumbai police, who migrated to Australia, coached the Australian team that won a medal in the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games."
THe resources are very much available. i think the reason why re're not at the top has nothing to do with skill/[physique/talent but entirely to do with initiative, planning and investment, all of which neither SAI or the IHF, or any other bureaucracy plagued body in india has any clue about. "I do not promise a medal to India but can make sure that India is back in the top four bracket within four-year term." The man knows hockey better than any one else in charge of india. pretty much every team he's coached and captained has won
