Twitter
Advertisement

Let's get high on hockey

DeshKeLiye campaign strives to give India's beloved sport its due * All eyes on semifinal round of Hockey World League in Belgium

Latest News
article-main
The Indian team defeated Pakistan at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, last year. The win helped them qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

There was a time when India loved hockey. But over the years, the sport has been ignored by administrators, fans and media. It's a crying shame that we continue to ignore the rich history of hockey in India. You don't win eight Olympic gold medals just like that. In a bid to give the sport some much-needed lift, Star Sports has come out with a commercial ahead of the Indian team's upcoming tour of Belgium, where they will take part in the semifinal of FIH Hockey World League.

The 45-second video, first aired during the one-off cricket Test between India and Bangladesh last week, features captain Sardar Singh and head coach Paul Van Ass leading a staged press conference. They are joined by PR Sreejesh, Birendra Lakra, Akashdeep Singh and Gurbaj Singh. The star men of Indian hockey recount their achievements of the year gone by. Reflecting the treatment of the sport in today's age, only a handful of journalists are seen in attendance.

Answering questions about the future of India hockey, Van Ass says, "The world knows about it but India doesn't," referring to the lack of awareness. The Indian team became the first to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games by beating Pakistan in the final of the Asian Games.

Akashdeep comments, "Par kya fayda (but what's the point)" before teammate Gurbaj adds, "India ke dil mein qualify nahin kar paye (we couldn't win India's heart)". Captain Sardar signs off by saying the team will play "Desh Ke Liye" (for the country) leaving the viewer with a sense of both guilt and pride. The video has gone viral.

During the ICC Cricket World Cup, Star Sports had launched the 'Mauka Mauka' campaign. And during the inaugural Indian Super League, they came up with 'Come on India, Lets Football'.

For Shubhranshu Singh, senior vice-president and head of marketing, Star Sports, the need to create awareness was the prime objective. "In the last year or so, the national team has performed phenomenally well, winning medals and accolades across the world. The campaign, #DeshKeLiye, is a rallying cry to our fellow countrymen to celebrate the triumphs of our heroes and support them as they make the country proud tournament after tournament. We wish to create awareness with respect to their stellar achievements and get Indians behind their team for their eventual quest for the Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro next year."

Keeping the advertisement as realistic as possible was the key for director Sanjay Shetty. "The brief and the list of the players was given by Star and that's how we we drew the concept on the basis of their brief. The motto was to keep it simple and leave a mark on viewers' mind. It was a single camera set-up and was shot at Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi. We wanted it to look like an actual press conference and convey the message that while Indian hockey is garnering recognition globally on the basis of their performance India is oblivious about it," he says.

The players haven't stopped smiling. Says striker Akashdeep, "We knew it was just a two-minute ad but once we started shooting, we realised that there is more to it than just taking part in it. It was a platform where we showcased our performances but we missed that kind of recognition. I felt that emotion between all of us during the shoot."

As far as midfielder Gurbaj is concerned, fans need to start loving the game once again. "Until a couple of years ago, there was a question mark over us (the team) and it was discussed everywhere. But today, we have achieved a lot in the last one year. The media plays a very critical role today. I think they will be the best facilitators to help us reach the fans," said Singh.

Yesteryear stars are also happy. "I loved the ad when I first saw it. But there's still a long way to go. It won't happen overnight. More than using social media as a platform and marketing themselves in a better way, this teams needs to start performing on a consistent basis. After a point the fan cannot afford to ignore the achievements. That said, the mentality of the fan is also key. Often you see fans talk about the team only when it's performing well, said former captain Viren Rasquinha.

The commercial, however, has a staunch critic in Olympic gold-winning captain and former coach V Baskaran. "It could have been conceived in a much better way. Why shoot with only a few players and the coach? Isn't the sport a team game? Shouldn't they have had the entire team? And they could have worded the dialogues in a much better way. A player (Sreejesh) says that the current team has achieved more in one year than what teams have done over the past 15 years. What will former players think after hearing this? That said, everyone is talking about the sport."

The video has received 1,50,000 views on YouTube, 1,30,000 on the Star Sports Facebook page and tweeted about on 3,600 tweets. "It's a small number when you compare it with #MaukaMauka or any other sports-related campaign," said a Twitter India employee.

The ad has made people take notice of the sport. "I saw the advertisement for the first time on Friday and was taken by surprise. So you can imagine how a normal person would be feeling about it. Hardly anyone watches the sport. But now everyone knows who Sardar Singh is. Being part of the junior side, this is all the encouragement youngsters need to go one step higher and make it into the senior team. Over the past few days, everyone has been talking about it during training," says Armaan Qureshi, a 20-year-old striker who plays for Delhi Waveriders in the Hockey India League.

The junior India player may be just a step away from joining the big boys, but the advertisement has given a lot of motivation to budding stars. "You need not be a football fan to know of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but the sad part about hockey is that nobody who doesn't watch the sport would know of Sardar Singh. We know we have a long way to go," says 15-year old Mihir Patil, who plays for Don Bosco High School, Matunga.

TEAM INDIA'S RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS
Gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. By beating Pakistan in the final, India became the first side to qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics
Silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow
Finished ninth at the 2014 FIH World Cup in the Hague, The Netherlands
Finished fourth in the 2014 FIH Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar
Beat Australia 3-1 in a four-match series in Australia in 2014
Finished third at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia in 2015

BELGIUM BECKONS
The Hockey World League semifinal will be played in Antwerp, Belgium from June 20 to July 5. The tournament features 10 teams, including heavyweights like Australia, Pakistan, Belgium and Great Britain. They will fight it out to qualify for the Finals of the league, to be held in India from November 28 to December 6. India have been grouped with France (June 20), Poland (June 23), Pakistan (June 26) and Australia (June 28)

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement