It’s always a cardinal sin to generalise on the basis of commonplace notions. Sadly, hockey in India has been a victim of that ever since its graph nosedived. Like any other sport, hockey has had its share of wows and woes. After major victories, the country hoists the players and the game on its shoulders but is never remiss in criticising it, in equal measure, for not delivering consistently.

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Many examples abound of this inconsistency: of the treatment meted out by the public and of the performance delivered by the players. In December 2016, India won the Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup. In stark contrast, six months from that day, the senior team lost to hockey minnows Malaysia and Canada in London.

While many deprecated the senior team for their performance, one must not lose sight of the fact that the team has still managed to climb up to the sixth spot in world rankings.

A large share of the credit goes to former Hockey India (HI) president and current International Hockey Federation (FIH) chief Narinder Batra. While most federations of Olympic sports in the country were struggling to run office, Batra turned HI into a professionally run unit.

Batra-led HI ensured that the sport not only grew but also became commercially viable, so much so that a professional league, the Hockey India League (HIL), came to life. As a result, the players’ kitchens were flush with supplies.

At the same time, controversies never left the HI corridors. Four foreign coaches — Paul van Ass, Terry Walsh, Michael Nobbs and Jose Brasa — left unceremoniously after a tiff with HI. However, India returned to the Olympics (2012), won the Asian Games gold (2014), claimed their maiden Champions Trophy silver (2016) and won the Junior World Cup (2016). It’s another story that continued failure in the Olympics meant that the public at large never passionately took to hockey. And in terms of recent setbacks, the future of HIL is in jeopardy on financial grounds with some of the franchises mulling an exit.

But reasonable success also led to reasonable development. Infrastructure has improved, academies are the new focal point, new stadiums have come up and small cities like Bhubaneswar have metamorphosed into preferred international hockey venues. However, many bemoan that at the grassroots level there has been little change. Experts I spoke to commonly opined that building swanky stadiums was not a sign of growth. Will every kid have access to an astroturf field, they asked cynically, and much to the dismay of hockey enthusiasts in India.

Take Punjab’s example. The state has more than 150 cities but only 26 turf pitches — 8 full-length and 18 of six-a-side size. The village of Mithapur in Jalandhar, which is home to former and current India captains Pargat Singh and Manpreet Singh, has been struggling to get the government’s nod for a turf at Shaheed Darshan Singh KP Stadium.

The coaches training local kids at the stadium have been told to prepare the base for astroturf by themselves. It costs Rs 15 to 20 lakh and the government hasn’t been upfront with any help.

This example alone highlights the struggle and need for more playing fields than big stadiums. And that doesn’t mean full-length artificial pitches. The start can be made with six-a-side fields.

The game’s holistic growth lies in making it more accessible.

Further, India’s coaching system also lags behind in scientific rigour and is in dire need of a revamped curriculum. The coaching system in the country dates back to the ‘60s and ‘70s. It is true that the approach has become scientific at the top level, India’s supply chain of quality sportspersons won’t improve until the same is incorporated at the grassroots. This prescription is just as valid for hockey.

It is not all dark though. Academies like Surjit Hockey Academy (SHA) in Jalandhar have set a dazzling precedent. It only provides training to enrolled players but also takes care of their food, lodging, and studies until they graduate from college. Its success can be gauged from the fact that among the 18 players who won the Junior World Cup last year, 10 are products of SHA.

Jaspreet Sahni is a sports writer with close to a decade of combined experience in digital and print media