FIH president Els van Breda Vriesman said the former champions were living on past glory instead of working on the future.
DOHA: World hockey’s boss has slammed India’s poor performance in international competitions, saying the former champions were living on past glory instead of working on the future.
“I sincerely believe Indian hockey is a disaster at present,” International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Els van Breda Vriesman said on Monday.
“India face a difficult and uncertain period because it has not gained a direct entry into the Olympics,” said Vriesman. “The qualifying tournaments are not going to be easy.”
Vriesman blamed the current Indian hockey administration for the downward slide, saying it had not taken seriously an FIH blueprint to improve the game in the country. “The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) is not a professional, developed unit that must run sports in these modern times,” she said.
“They need to put in more effort in grassroot development, umpire programmes, have more synthetic turfs. We at the FIH prepared a blueprint for Indian hockey and copies of that are there on the tables of the IHF, the Indian Olympic Association and the International Olympic Committee. FIH officials have visited India and spoken to several people both in the government and outside. We must have had at least 400 meetings with Indians so far. But in the end, they are the ones who have to implement the things. We can’t do the job for them. They must get out of the past and think of the future,” she added.
Vriesman, a Dutchwoman who took over the FIH in 1998 after serving as its secretary-general for a decade, however, feels world hockey needs India to regain its old glory. “India is one of the most important countries in the sport, can you think of hockey without thinking of India?” she asked. “There is talent in abundance in India. You just need to scratch the surface. But the commitment has to come from within.” Vriesman also confirmed that Sahara had pulled out as a sponsor of world hockey mainly due to the poor performance of the Indian team.
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