February 9, 1998
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HOCKEY Short-term Goal Random shuffling of coaches bodes ill for the game.. By Rohit Brijnath
So a coach is sacked and Indian hockey stumbles along like a dazed, directionless drunk. Routine? Yes and no. Yes, because the frequent swapping of coaches -- Zafar Iqbal for Cedric D'Souza for Bhaskaran for Pargat for Bhaskaran since 1994 -- now raises eyebrows but not much more. No, because Pargat's dismissal was bizarre. On the day he got his walking papers. Pargat, capped 313 times for India and our last hockey icon, says, "I'm shocked, humiliated." An hour later, Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) President K.P.S. Gill explains: "Pargat says he was unable to coach Indian hockey as he had other commitments." Someone's not telling the truth. One version, offered by an observer of this black comedy, goes something like this. When Pargat heard of his ouster, he asked Gill, "Why, what mistakes did I make and at least I should have been allowed to tender my resignation?" To which Gill replied, "I'll make you development coach." Pargat refused that handout, yet required some avenue to save face. So were the "other commitments" that convenient explanation? A telephonic conversation the day before is revealing. On January 28, IHF Secretary K. Jyothikumaran called Pargat to congratulate him on his Padma Shri mentioning that the coaching position would be finalised the next day. Replied Pargat: "In case there is any decision to change me, kindly tell me well in advance." Jyothikumaran confirms this conversation. He also candidly admits that "Pargat never mentioned he did not want to be coach. He also wanted to know in advance because he wanted to escape any embarrassment". Still, one selector believes everyone's overreacting: "Pargat was a brilliant player, he was never a coach. They realised that." He could be wrong, for one coaching assignment -- Pargat was in charge for only the 4-nations tournament in Hamburg last August -- is insufficient evidence. He could be right, yet the IHF's handling of his replacement was inept. A great player has been treated like an errant schoolboy, and the body that runs India's national sport looks once again to be beset by confusion. At the meeting -- attended by selectors M.M. Somaya and Joaquim Carvalho, Gill, Jyothikumaran, Bhaskaran, Pargat and executive director of coaching Cedric D'Souza -- chaos continued. With Pargat out, first Somaya was proposed as national coach, then Carvalho as development coach, till Gill decided Bhaskaran -- temporarily in charge of the Indian team recently against the visiting Germans only because Pargat had chicken pox -- would continue. But with Somaya now added on as "hockey manager". "It hasn't been tried before," explains Somaya, "but I would think it is to give Bhaskaran tactical support." Then he adds, "Morale is not so high so I can help there." Now why should he mention morale? Could it coincidentally just be because Bhaskaran injured a few egos when he said a week ago that senior players Dhanraj Pillai, Mukesh Kumar, Gavin Ferreira and Ramandeep Singh were "over the hill"? The players remain in the team and Bhaskaran immediately armed himself with that classic escape clause called "I was misquoted". Finally here's the punchline: Bhaskaran's job too is uncertain. After this month's Indo-Pak series the "coaching job will be reviewed again", says Gill. Coaches require time to establish tactics, and trying to revive Indian hockey with a cocked gun at your forehead is known to breed insecurity. Gill couldn't care less -- "you've got to keep them that way". It doesn't matter that Somaya says, "Two years is what a coach needs." It doesn't matter that Bhaskaran admits, "You can't win a medal in six months. We keep talking about the professional approach of European teams but we don't follow it." Indeed it doesn't matter what anyone says; hockey is happiest just stumbling along to nowhere. |
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There is no surprise left
in Indian sport. Absurdity is ubiquitous. Last week, hockey provided fresh evidence as
Pargat Singh -- in charge of the team for just a solitary tournament -- was replaced by V.
Bhaskaran as national coach. 
