Advantage Outsiders
With the balance tilted against it, the Taliban regime will soon find itself vanquished.

Lull Before The Storm
Amid calls for a quick and decisive end to the conflict, Afghanistan has been abuzz with talk of an imminent Northern Alliance ground war against the Taliban.

History's Pointers
The Soviet Union's 10 years campaign in Afghanistan — a conflict that led to a humiliating withdrawal and, some say, its eventual breakup
— can be a learning experience for
the US.

SPORTS: HOCKEY

Hope From Hobart

The Junior World Cup victory puts the sport on the crossroads again. Decisions taken from now on could either build or break the national team.

By Sharda Ugra

	GOLDEN BOYS: The Indian hockey team with the Junior World Cup trophy

One night during the junior men's hockey World Cup India captain Gagan Ajit Singh sat in his hotel room in Hobart, stuck at the bottom of the world. Hobart is a long way Down Under, but Gagan was talking history, not geography. India had just lost a crucial pool match to Australia and Gagan asked the question Indian hockey has been asked for 20 years. How is it that every time it really counted, someone else ended up celebrating and the Indian team had to put its heads down and leave the field. "Yaar, hum field pe kab nachenge (When will we be the ones dancing on the field)?" Gagan asked roommate Arjun Halappa. "Hamara din kab aayega (When is it going to be our day)?"

Surely now, with the Junior World Cup trophy held up to an astonished nation, every one in Indian hockey understands. When they plan for it, when they prepare for it, when they will it, it can be their day. For the first time in more than 25 years India returned from a world hockey event with something other than regrets. India has won only three major titles in 25 years-the 1975 senior World Cup, Olympic gold in 1980 and Asian Games gold in 1998-far too little for a country that once painted hockey's greatest works of art but now struggles to read its modern textbooks. The under-21 World Cup and the way it was won could prove to be the key to the difficult translation.

Two days after the Indians had to swallow the defeat versus Australia, they played the mighty Dutch with only one option: victory. Coach Rajinder Singh, who spent a fitful night thinking of formations, didn't spare his team the truth. "I told them if they couldn't win that match, there would never be a revival of Indian hockey," he says. That's a very heavy cross to carry even if you're not running full tilt at goal, hockey stick in hand, white ball in focus, eyes darting, heart pumping. But Rajinder's words freed his side. They played like it was the final, running on a battery of self-belief and energy. The Netherlands equalised three times, but the Indians scored still one more to win 4-3. They beat Germany 3-2 in the semis and Argentina 6-1 in the final. Aussie junior team coach Colin Batch was impressed. "The Indians kept improving throughout the tournament. They attacked very quickly, but also had very good defence, launching the ball a good 50-60m out of defence, bypassing the midfield," he told India Today.

Attack and defence are not two sides of a coin but the elements of the precious metal that makes it. Post-Hobart, there is celebration over the fact that the Indians won playing "traditional" hockey with five forwards and not the "European style". Former Olympian and ex-coach Balkishen Singh differs. "The game that we displayed was a mix of Indian skills and European thrust. It cannot and must not be interpreted as a triumph of the so-called Indian classical hockey. India has clearly evolved a new style of hockey," he says. It's what is being worked on at the national camp, the seniors argue, call it what you like. The tactic Batch singled out-the scoop out from the defence-is a signature move. Rajinder explained it was taken to thwart counter-attacks, break tight man-to-man marking and open up the play. The precise, nimble hand of skill fitted into the glove of modern hockey-in some parts, they're already calling this the "Eurasian" style. Never mind the name tags. The victory was a result of a sustained programme of training and international competition for the past three years. "The 2001 Junior World Cup was seen as a target from August 1999," says C.R. Kumar, who coached the junior squad until earlier this year. Of the 18 players in the team, 14 have played for India at various levels: juniors, 'A' teams, second XIs, developmental teams as well as the seniors.

Most other teams in Hobart also had players who belonged to their senior squads, including two Australian internationals who had 100 caps between them. So while the Indian experience may have helped, what may have worked more was that they had played in each other's company very often.

The team was sent to Australia two weeks before the start of the Junior World Cup for practice games and acclimatisation to Hobart's temperatures that sometimes hit 4 degrees Celsius. Every little bit helped. The programme now in place for Indian juniors from the under-14 levels upwards is the IHF's one bright idea that is showing results. But its feudal management policies often threaten to undo all that good work. Continuity in personnel is seen as dangerous and mild dissent is considered armed rebellion. Kumar was suddenly moved out to the senior camp at the start of the year. Rajinder, who had previously worked with the under-18s, was announced new coach two months before the World Cup. Fortunately the team made the most of Rajinder's expertise and ensured that Kumar's work was not wasted. Now, when there should be talk of how to translate the win into success at the senior level, there are calls to sack the seniors and groom the glory boys from Hobart for the 2004 Olympics. Senior coach Cedric D'Souza ignores it all. "The victory will give these boys confidence-when they come into the national camp they will push the seniors, there will be two-three guys fighting for one spot. It's a healthy competitive atmosphere and that's fantastic," he says.

The senior World Cup-the true barometer for India's standing in the world game-is only four months away and every step taken from here on is critical. In 1997, India had finished runners-up in the Junior World Cup. The desire to fast-track those players into the senior team led to upheaval, heartburn and no less than four changes of coaches between 1998 and 2001. Former Olympian and selector M.M. Somaya wants perspective to prevail and the younger players to develop their own analytical skills.

The juniors are scattered and savouring victory. Gagan to Ferozepur where there are two hockey Olympians in his family: father Ajit and uncle Harmeek. Player of the tournament Deepak Thakur to Una to talk to his father, a driver with the Himachal Pradesh Government, about how he scored 10 goals. Deep defender Jugraj Singh, whose penalty-corner hitting is called world class, to Rayya near Amritsar for an overdue haircut. And Halappa to Coorg where his parents want to know why his brand-new Oakleys sunglasses, the cool sportsman's most vital accessory, cost more than a washing machine.

To a man they are energised and empowered. What happened to very few Indian hockey players in two decades happened to them. Their day arrived. They danced. Someone else left quietly. Which is why Hobart is more than an achievement or a landmark for the sport. Hobart is hope itself. The men who run Indian hockey must now decide whether to let that hope float or sink.

—with Rohit Brijnath and bureau reports

MetroScape

Looking Glass

Mumbai Restaurant:
India Jones

Mumbai Puppetry Festival: Toccata

Bangalore Restaurant: Chung Wah

Kolkata Exhibition : Life Is Beautiful