he year was 1995. Sahara India was a newly emerging company trying to get into sports sponsorship big-time. The Sahara India Group of Companies had nearly 1100 offices spread all over India, and a work force exceeding 70,000 employees.

Sahara India decided to pump in Rs. 50 lakhs for the 8th Indira Gandhi International Hockey Tournament held in Delhi in 1995. The incentives also included the award of Maruti Esteem cars in the following 6 categories - Best Forward, Best Midfielder, Best Defender, Best Goalkeeper, Man of the Tournament and Best Indian Player.

In addition, a Philips television set would be awarded after each game to the Man of the Match. Former Olympians and World Cuppers were to be given first class train fares to Delhi, and a cheque of Rs. 10,000 each.

Sahara even made television shorts starring film personalities like Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Jackie Shroff, proclaiming their passion for India's national game. 100 hoardings were put all over the capital to attract crowds to the tournament.

Eight teams flew into Delhi to join hosts India. After the first two days of the tournament, and with 8 games already played, 8 television sets had been awarded. At this stage, FIH Honorary Treasurer, the late Phil Appleyard, made a series of short-sighted and foolish decisions that set the game of hockey light years back in India.

Phil first pointed out the awarding of television sets and cars was not acceptable, as it contravened FIH rules. After some hurried meetings, a compromise was reached. Instead of television sets and cars, cash awards would be given after every match.

Then Phil Appleyard pointed out that the cash awards cannot go to the players, but to the winning team managers or associations. Phil stated, "FIH specifically bans prizes to individuals. We are clear about that. I doubt it will ever change. We cannot allow sponsorship to run the game."

On the issue of cars, Phil had the following words of wisdom, "You have to look at the core issues involved. If a team wins a car, freight will turn out to be expensive. To give an example, in England, the freight charge is 37%. The cars awarded were right-hand drive, so they would not have been useful in Korea or Poland. There would be spare part problems for Indian-made cars in other countries. There are so many allied issues."

Subrato Ray, chairman of the Sahara India Group of Companies, hit back. "Sahara India wanted to give a big boost to Indian hockey so that it can also achieve a glamorous status. In India, hockey is considered a poor man's game, and youngsters need motivation in terms of prestige and financial incentives which are available in other sports.

However, our aim in giving these awards is to gift the players, and not the hockey federations. We do not find any rationale in the rules and regulations of the federations which stipulate that nothing can be given to the players.

Without being in anyway prejudiced to hockey federations, we are compelled to withdraw the cars. We have decided to give these cars to other sports where such rules do not exist."

The best way to treat Phil Appleyard would have been to buy him a return ticket and tell him to take the next flight back to where he belonged. Instead, the IHF just acquiesced to whatever he said meekly.

Hockey's loss was cricket's gain. Sahara never sponsored Indian hockey again, and turned its eyes to cricket.

Sahara India currently has a 3-year deal with the Indian cricket board worth an estimated Rs. 300 crores. Sahara pays the cricket board Rs. 53 lakhs for every test, and Rs. 46 lakhs for every one-day international played by India. Sahara also pays the cricket board Rs. 102 lakhs every year for conducting a limited overs domestic tournament.

In return, Sahara India will be able to advertise on the chest portion of the cricketer's attire, the non-leading arm, and on the kit bag. Sahara will also be able to rope in any 6 players of the national team to endorse their products in commercials.

How big was Indian hockey's loss? Sahara cricket sponsorship amount of Rs. 300 crores would have been sufficient to build 100 artificial turf pitches across the length and breadth of India!

The Victorious Indian Women's Hockey Team Celebrates

he Indian women's hockey team is reaping their just rewards after their sensational gold medal in the Commonwealth Games hockey competition.

The Commonwealth Games contingent was welcomed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, by Sports Minister Uma Bharati, officials of the Indian Olympic Association and hundreds of fans, relatives, schoolchildren and media persons.

There was beating of drums, impromptu dances and slogan-shouting as the army and para-military bands welcomed the contingent. The women's hockey team was the centre of attraction as media persons and photographers jostled with each other to get near the players.

The Indian women's team got to meet prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence on August 6. The prime minister announced an award of Rs. 10 lakhs to the team. Earlier, the sports minister announced an award of Rs. 5 lakhs to the team.

With the Indian Railways contributing as many as 15 players in the 16-member Indian team, the team was felicitated by Railway Minister Nitish Kumar. All the 16 members of the team were given Rs. 1 lakh each by the Railways.

Jharkhand's troika of Sumarai Tete, Masira Surin and Kanti Baa were surprised to see thousands of fans waiting at Ranchi railway station, despite the train reaching their hometown four hours late. They were then taken to the railway ground in an open jeep where the sports minister, Baidanath Ram, felicitated the girls with a silver plate and a shawl each.

From press conferences to felicitation functions to the glare of television cameras, the women's hockey team has seen more limelight than even the men’s hockey team.

"We have been craving for this kind of attention," said Sumarai Tete. "I remember how people used to surround the men's hockey team while we could only watch from a distance. Today, our day has finally arrived."

Mamata Kharab, the little girl who has become a star overnight after her golden goal in the final, is still coming to terms with her stardom. "I played like a woman possessed. Ek junoon tha, ek nasha tha, ek dhun thi."

f you are done reading about the lucrative endorsements and huge match fees accorded to our millionaire cricketers, and feel sorry for them being torn between playing for money or playing for their country, spare some time to read on how India produces its women hockey players.

3 members of the Commonwealth Games gold medal winning hockey team - Sumarai Tete, Masira Surin and Kanti Baa - are products of the National Sports Talent Contest (NSTC) centre run by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) at the Bariyatu Girls High School in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

Established in 1976 to identify and groom potential national-level women hockey players, this hockey centre is a symbol of everything that is wrong in Indian sports.

The centre takes in between 25 - 30 trainees every year. The young players, barely into their teens, are lodged in stinking, mosquito-infested rooms with dripping roofs, and compelled to share beds due to lack of adequate number of cots. And the centre's four toilets, all of which have doors missing, stink.

The kitchen is a breeding ground for flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches and snails. The utensils used to cook food are covered in a thick coat of carbon. The trainees are fed on a meagre protein-deficient and iron-deficient diet. Many of the trainees are anaemic, but there is no regular medical checkup.

Despite all the hardships the players endure, the centre has produced the following India vice-captains (2) and internationals (7) in its quarter century of existence - Savitri Purti, Pushpa Pradhan, Adline Kerketta, Sumarai Tete, Masira Surin, Kanti Baa and Anita Ekka.

The current batch of 29 girls at the residential NSTC centre returned from their summer vacations only to find a closure notice due to financial difficulties. The state government, which allocates a mere Rs. 650 per inmate per month, could not even release the amount this year. The same was true with the earlier Bihar Government, which couldn't release the money during the fiscal year 1999-2000.

There is a lesson in all this for our cricketing cash cows. They are by far the richest sportsmen in a country which has equated sports with men's cricket. India's top 5 cricketers have signed endorsement deals worth a collective sum of Rs. 28 crores, as can be seen by the table below

Player	Signed By	Rate	Clients
Sachin Tendulkar	Worldtel	Rs. 100 lakhs / client	9
Saurav Ganguly	Percept D'Mark	Rs. 175 lakhs / client	8
Rahul Dravid	21st Century Media	Rs. 400 lakhs / year	5
V. V. S. Lakshman	Sporting Frontiers	Rs. 100 lakhs / year	3
Virendra Sehwag	Collage Sports Mgmt	Rs. 100 lakhs / 3 years	6

The mighty cricketers need to step down from their pedestal a bit, and see how the rest of India's sportsmen and sportswomen live, work and play. They will realise that while Rs. 650 / month, and tons of dedication, can win you a Commonwealth Games gold medal on foreign soil, a collective sum of Rs. 28 crores cannot even buy you a series win on foreign soil.

Article Courtesy Jaideep Marar, Indian Express

he origins of this story are as humble as the profile of this sport in India. A young kid from a poor background carves out a niche for himself in the sport's hall of fame. He then undertakes a venture which sportspersons in India rarely dare to undertake - of opening an academy. But then, Dhanraj Pillai has always created a buzz both on and off the hockey field.

As it nears one year of inception, the Dhanraj Pillai Hockey Academy (DPHA) has had a roller-coaster ride. The academy has yet to have a permanent address.

The inaugural proceedings and selection trials were held at the Mahindra Stadium near Churchgate. Later it moved to the hockey field of St. Andrews School in Bandra, then it shifted to the hockey ground of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology in Powai, and is presently located at Kreeda Prabhodhini in Goregaon, where the off-season training is in progress. 

But Pillai is unperturbed. "All along, whenever we faced problems, there were an equal number of people willing to help," he says.

The academy's funding is based on an interesting concept - from the recycling of used inkjet and laser cartridges. Pillai did the rounds of corporate houses, hospitals and government offices to seek donors of used cartridges for his academy.

"The response was overwhelming. There were instances when top executives and directors put aside their daily schedules and gave a hearing to my plans," says Pillai.

The likes of Cipla, DSP Merrill Lynch, Hinduja Hospital, Gangaram Hospital (Delhi) and Hindustan Petroleum have been regularly contributing used cartridges to the academy. Hinduja Hospital has even given 6 medical passes to each of the 30-odd trainees of the academy to undergo treatment in case of an injury.

A talented bunch of individuals - coaches Satinder Singh Walia and Clarence Lobo, talent scout Marzaban 'Bawa' Patel and fitness instructor Yogesh Kanchan - have provided direction and kept the academy on the tracks even when Pillai was away on national duty or was playing in the Malaysian National Hockey League.

The academy provides all that Pillai himself was deprived of during his formative years. "I used to wear only one jersey for days together, and go home on an empty stomach after training sessions. Each of the academy trainees has at least two spare jerseys and a proper kit. We also ensure that they are on a proper diet," says Pillai.

Among the incentives on offer to the boys is a 25-day tour of Bangalore, with the best of the lot making it to France for a training programme.

"Tony Fernandes, who was my coach when I played in the French league, has promised to train a couple of the best academy boys. We haven't worked out the schedule, but we hope to implement it in the near future," says Pillai.

'Bawa' Patel has the last word. "How many sportsmen do what Dhanraj is doing? Look at Sachin Tendulkar. He is launching a chain of gourmet restaurants in India (the first "Tendulkar's" will open in October in Mumbai, a stone's throw from the historic Gateway of India). It takes guts to do what Dhanraj is doing."

he latest hockey book to hit the stands comes all the way from Australia - 'Hockey's Odyssey! From Dhyan Chand to Charlesworth' written by Trevor Vanderputt.

Perth-based Trevor is a Dutch descendent of Indian origin, who after spending his first 30 years in India, migrated to Australia in 1964. This book is part autobiography, part biography and part chronicle of life and sportsmanship in two hockey-loving nations - India and Australia.

The book has a nostalgic lead-in. Trevor beautifully traces four generation of his forefathers, starting with his great-grandfather who worked for the Dutch East India Company.

Trevor learnt his hockey while playing in the hill stations of northern India (Darjeeling, Nainital, Simla), and then later in his career for the Delhi Independents and the Calcutta Rangers.

The book is replete with anecdotes of hockey from the 40s and 50s India. Trevor talks of playing knockout tournaments in Uttar Pradesh (K. D. Singh Babu's home state) - in places like Lucknow, Bullandshahr and Moradabad. The crowd used to chant 'Gaddi Pakdo' towards the dying stages of the game. The literal translation is 'Catch the train' and it meant that the losing team should catch the first available train and get back home.

The book has very interesting facts - for instance, there is a table listing the Anglo-Indians who played for India from the 1928 Olympics (9) to the 1960 Olympics (1 - the great Leslie Claudius). Trevor also distinguishes between Anglo-Indians (of British descent) and Goans (of Portuguese descent). For instance, the 1948 Indian Olympic team had 3 Anglo-Indians and 4 Goans.

The book has brief life sketches of 'Hockey Wizard' Dhyan Chand, Leslie Claudius, Pat Jansen, Gurbaksh Singh and the doyen of hockey administrators - Pankaj Gupta.

Trevor also lists his all-time best Indian and Australian teams. The teams are so loaded with talent that just the reserve forwards of his all-time best Indian team include Balbir Singh Sr., Roop Singh and Kishan Lal, while the reserve forwards of his all-time best Australian team include Terry Walsh, Peter Haselhurst and Colin Batch!

The odyssey in the title of the book refers to Trevor's community of Anglo-Indians, who brought the spirit of undefeated champions from the glory days of India's past, and then continue their odyssey through into the future with the girls and boys of Australia.

The book is published by UsForOZ publishers, 171 Nicholson Road, Lynwood, Western Australia 6147. Their email address is usforoz@iinet.net.au. Trevor Vanderputt's postal address is 12 Baxter Close, Huntingdale, Western Australia 6168, Australia, and his telephone number is 61894907007.

n his well-known autobiography, The Golden Hat Trick, Balbir Singh Sr. wrote, "During my college days, we had an essay by A. G. Gardiner titled 'Jamsahib of Nawnagar' on cricket's inimitable Ranjitsinhji or 'Ranji'. The British educationists thrust Gardiner on us because Ranji played for England. Our educationists would do well to include some pieces on hockey in our school and college text books. For young collegians, it can serve as a reminder of the glory days of our national sport."

An article on hockey has finally made it to the Indian textbooks. Noted hockey historian Shanti Kumar Arumugam's article on Major Dhyan Chand entitled 'The Wizard', taken from the book 'Great Indian Olympians,' has been included in the class XI English text book of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for the academic year 2002-2003.

"I am honoured. The legend of Dhyan Chand has been perpetuated. The younger generation will come to know the greatest of our sportspersons," said an elated Arumugam, who co-authored the book.

The article on Dhyan Chand highlights how a sepoy went on to become the Indian captain at a time when class consciousness and Anglo-Indianism had a major say in sports under British rule. When Dhyan Chand made his debut in the 1928 Olympics, there were 9 Anglo-Indians and 1 nawab in the team. When Dhyan Chand became the captain of the 1936 Indian Olympic team, there were 7 Anglo-Indians in the team.

The article includes quotes from Dhyan Chand's autobiography 'Goal', and from those who had the good fortune of watching his superlative game.

The Government of India has already declared Dhyan Chand's birth anniversay of August 29 as the National Sports Day. The president of India confers Arjuna Puraskar and Khel Ratna for outstanding sportspersons on that occasion in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. From this year onwards, a new category called Dhyan Chand Lifetime Award for Sports and Games has been instituted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.

Shanti Kumar Arumugam, a freelance journalist based in New Delhi, has so far compiled 4 Hockey Yearbooks and has co-authored 2 books - 'The Golden Boot' with Moscow Olympics gold medallist M. K. Kaushik, and 'Great Indian Olympians' with Gulu Ezekiel, the then sports editor of indya.com. His first book on Indian women's hockey is going to hit the stands shortly. Arumugam is also the webmaster of stick2hockey.com, a feature-based hockey website. 

total of 14 sportsmen and sportswomen were awarded the 2001 Arjuna Puraskar for sporting excellence, on the occasion of India's National Sports Day on August 29, observed every year on the birthday of Dhyan Chand.

Current India captan Dileep Tirkey won the Arjuna Puraskar for men's hockey, while Seeta Gussain won the Arjuna Puraskar for women's hockey. Indian Railways hockey coach Ashok Dewan won the newly instituted Dhyan Chand Puraskar for Lifetime Achievement in Sports.

The awards were presented by the President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalaam, at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 29.

Tirkey is only the second Adivasi player to lead the Indian hockey team, after Jaipal Singh led India in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. Tirkey was also a member of the 1998 gold-winning Bangkok Asian Games squad.

In women's hockey, Preetam Rani Siwach won the Arjuna Puraskar in 1999, Tingongleima Chanu in 2000, and now Seeta Gussain in 2001. All 3 were members of India's 2002 Commonwealth Games gold medal winning women's hockey team.

With the Indian Railways contributing as many as 15 players to the 16-member Indian team for the Commonwealth Games, Railways coach Ashok Dewan deservedly won the Dhyan Chand Puraskar for Lifetime Achievement. Ashok Dewan was the goalkeeper of India's 1975 Kuala Lumpur World Cup winning team.

The awardees were chosen by a new selection committee headed by former badminton ace Prakash Padukone. The revamped selection committee comprised 5 Olympians, 4 Arjuna Puraskar winners and only 2 administrators, and included shooter Samaresh Jung, tennis player Sandeep Kirtane and basketballer Parminder Singh.

efending Asian Games champion India, and Asia Cup champion South Korea are in Pool A of the men's hockey competition of the 14th Asian Games to be held at the Gangseo Hockey Stadium, in Pusan, South Korea, from September 29 to October 15.

Japan and Hong Kong make up the other two teams in Pool A, while Pool B comprises Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh and China.

The hockey gold medallist at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan will directly qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. India's schedule in Busan is as follows:

Date	Match
Sep 30	India vs. Hong Kong
Oct 2	India vs. Japan
Oct 4	India vs. South Korea
Oct 9	Semi-Finals
Oct 12	FINAL

The women's competition will consist of a single pool featuring 5 teams - China, India, Japan, Uzbekistan and South Korea.

It will be no easy task for the Indian women in the Asian Games, as they have to face defending champion South Korea and 2002 Champions Trophy winner China.

Winning the 2002 Commonwealth Games hockey gold by beating England 3-2 in the final, while very creditable, should also be kept in perspective. The same England team went on to lose 0-5 to New Zealand, 0-4 to Argentina, 0-2 to Australia, 0-2 to Netherlands and 0-2 to New Zealand to finish last in the 2002 Women's Champions Trophy.

India vs. Australia - Photographs courtesy RabobankTrophy.com

he Rabobank 4-Nation hockey tournament was held in Amstelveen, Netherlands, from August 22 to 25. The countries taking part were world nos. 2 Australia, world nos. 3 Netherlands, world nos. 4 South Korea and India.

Considering that the countries playing in the 4-nation tournament were also participating in the Champions Trophy, which was starting a week after the 4-nation tournament, this was supposed to be a curtain-raiser to the prestigious Champions Trophy.

India finished last in the 4-nation tournament, with just 1 point from 3 matches. India had the following match results:

Date	Result	Goal Scorers - India
Aug 22	Netherlands 5 - India 2	Dileep Tirkey Jugraj Singh
Aug 24	Australia 3 - India 1	Prabhjyot Singh
Aug 25	South Korea 2 - India 2	Dileep Tirkey Dhanraj Pillai

The Indian team comprised the following:

Goalkeepers: Devesh Chauhan (Indian Oil), Bharat Chetri (Karnataka)

Backs: Dileep Tirkey (Indian Airlines-Captain), Jugraj Singh, Kanwalpreet Singh (both Punjab), Dinesh Nayak (Tamil Nadu)

Midfielders: Sukhbir Singh Gill (Bharat Petroleum), Viren Rasquinha (Indian Oil), Vikram Pillai (Mumbai), Ignace Tirkey (Services), Bimal Lakra (Indian Airlines)

Forwards: Dhanraj Pillai (Indian Airlines), Deepak Thakur, Prabhjyot Singh (both Indian Oil), Daljeet Singh Dhillon, Gagan Ajeet Singh, Tejbeer Singh (all Punjab), Arjun Halappa, Sandeep Michael (both Karnataka).

Officials: Rajinder Singh (Chief Coach), Narender Singh Sodhi (Assistant Coach), Sampath Kumar (Physiotherapist), Dr. Rajkumar Jaipal (Doctor) and Aslam Sher Khan (Manager)

Photograph Courtesy : World Hockey, November 1969

he Photograph of the Month for September features a match between India and France from the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. In a classic action photograph, French goalkeeper Sauthier saves a goal-bound shot from Harbinder Singh.

India ended up 3rd in the Mexico City Olympic hockey competition - the first time ever that India did not win either the silver or the gold medal in Olympic hockey.

India lost two matches at the Mexico City Games - to New Zealand 1-2 in a league match, and to Australia 1-2 in the semi-final. It was the first time in an Olympic match that India conceded more than one goal.

As a direct result of India's poor performance in the 1968 Olympic Games, no hockey player received the Arjuna Puraskar, the highest distinction in Indian sports, in 1969. It was the first time that a hockey player was omitted from the national award since its inception in 1961.

he Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) made a profit of around RM 2 million from hosting the 16-team World Cup in Kuala Lumpur in February 2002.

"The accounts are yet to be closed and audited. We are expecting more revenue as there is still some money to be collected from television," said MHF secretary S. Satgunam after a council meeting.

ove over ESPN and Star. There is a new 24-hour television channel in town - Ten Sports. And yes, it shows games other than cricket too. To begin with, live coverage of the 24th Men's Champions Trophy in Köln, Germany, featuring India and the top 5 hockey teams in the world.

Dubai-based Ten Sports is a part of Taj Television Ltd. Mr. Abdul Rehman Bukhatir is the Chairman of Ten Sports, while Chris McDonald is its Chief Executive.

Taj Television Ltd. was established in January 2001, went live on April 01, 2002, and already reaches more than 25 million homes across the subcontinent. Ten Sports is headquartered in Dubai Media City in a 55,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility.

"We wanted to build a sports channel specifically for the Indian subcontinent, highlighting the region's sportsmen," said Colin Sheriff, Vice President - Engineering and MIS, Taj Television.

This is in refreshing contrast to ESPN-Star which shows American football (NFL), American basketball (NBA) American college basketball (NCAA), American golf (PGA), European soccer and New Zealand rugby, but not Indian hockey and football. 

Ten Sports and the FIH have signed a 3-year television rights deal valid through 2005. Peter Hutton, Vice President (Programming) for Ten Sports said that this year's tournaments covered by the agreement include the men's Champions Trophy (Köln), women's Champions Trophy (Macao), and the men's and women's Champions Challenge Cup (Harare).

Peter said that Ten Sports bought the cable and satellite rights for the South Asia region from the FIH through its broadcasting agent Octagon CSI. All the matches for the above tournaments will be shown live. Ten Sports plans to acquire the worldwide television rights for all the major FIH events as it grows bigger in the future.

All these years, ESPN-Star has never done live telecasts of Commonwealth Games hockey, or Asian Games hockey, or World Cup hockey, or even Olympic hockey. All that will change, however, with the advent of Ten Sports, which is a broad-based television sports channel, instead of a cricket channel masquerading as a sports channel.

Deepak Lala from Auckland, New Zealand, is this edition's Visitor of the Month. Deepak, who is associated with the Auckland Indian Sports Club (Inc.), had the following to say to BharatiyaHockey.org:

The Auckland Indian Sports Club (Inc.) has a proud tradition in hockey. Our club has produced many international players for New Zealand, such as Peter Daji.

We are seeking young, talented Indian hockey players to play for our club on a long-term basis. We would arrange airfares, etc. Do you have a contact name, phone number, address, and email of someone who could help us? Thank you.

he women's Champions Trophy was held in Asia for the first time when the 10th edition was held in Macao, China, from August 24 to September 1, 2002. Macao, a former Portuguese enclave that returned to Chinese rule in 1999, hosted the tournament as part of its preparation for the 2005 East Asian Games.

Previous hosts and winners of the women's Champions Trophy are given below. Note that the tournament was played bi-annually till 1999, after which it became an annual event.

Year	Host City	Host Country	Winner
1987	Amstelveen	Netherlands	Netherlands
1989	Frankfurt	Germany	South Korea
1991	Berlin	Germany	Australia
1993	Amstelveen	Netherlands	Australia
1995	Mar del Plata	Argentina	Australia
1997	Berlin	Germany	Australia
1999	Brisbane	Australia	Australia
2000	Amstelveen	Netherlands	Netherlands
2001	Amstelveen	Netherlands	Argentina
2002	Macao	China	China

The once all-conquering Australian women's hockey team, who have won a record 5 Champions Trophy tournaments in a row, have now lost in two tournaments within the span of a month - the Commonwealth Games in early August and the Champions Trophy in late August.