Is Indian Hockey Being Given Step-motherly Treatment

Last week India became the Asian Champion in Hockey and that too by beating arch rivals Pakistan. So far so good, then what? Winning team was offered some Rs 25000 for each player for winning the tournament for the country. Now that outrageous, it is demeaning for the team and more demeaning for the National game of the country.

When cricket won 2011 world cup they were offered crores and crores of rupees, and that not by federation (BCCI in this case) but by the governments of different states. That is public money was spent like water for already rich game. Now by offering that paltry sum they are discouraging the future players of Hockey, by this government is telling its people that you better don't play this game otherwise you will be treated like that.

Then we had debates on this issue and all sorts of views comes out but when somebody suggest that we should change our national game if Hockey does not reflect the real spirit of the game, at that moment everybody become sentimental and they start talking about nationalism and patriotism. Now lets take all the arguments put forward to explain the poor condition of national game one by one (Apart from the fact that, this game is administered badly).

One is that Hockey does not have money because it does not have audience and hence no sponsors. Ok agreed. So what our government have done? Insulted them by paying Rs 25000 per players for winning a tournament where 6 teams were involved and make heroes of cricketers by offering them crores. When you do not give public a chance to watch the game how there will be audience? None of the channels including our DD telecast even the final then where from the audience will come. People says except India-Pak match in Hockey world cup stadiums were empty, but do they ask are the stadias filled in test matches? Then there have been matches in Hockey where stadiums were houseful and more number of people were outside.

Some of the people argue that government gave money to cricketers because they earned it in the form of revenues for the nation. But here question is have these people considered the support of country in the form of tax wavers on entertainment tax? This thing alone run into 100s of crores.

Then they say that Hockey team is performing badly. Ok agreed but then can anybody tell in last 15-20 years how many tournaments Indian cricket have won which involved more than 5 teams? Hockey has won several times more than cricket. Does that answer the critics? Some say we are in the top team in cricket. It is most absurd. They just touched the top once mostly they are around number 4-5, that too in a game that is played only by 10 nations, now just imagine we are still number 7 worldwide in hockey, which is played by more than 100 nations across the world. Is that bad? Even after all the insults and maladministration at home. 

There was a time when cricket did not had money and Hockey used to play exhibition matches to raise money for cricket. Do cricket has the same spirit? They do not play, why to raise one challenger for all the marketing efforts that have gone in Cricket. Is that the spirit of nation not to help each other or we want a nation with the spirit of mutual support and respect?

Then somebody argued that there is not enough scope of entertainment because it is 70 min or so game with one single break. Then what about football which is 90 minute game with just one break and happen to be the most popular game world-wide?

First we need to respect our national game. Stop insulting the players, bring better administration and things will improve automatically.