Ridiculous End To Disastrous Olympics

I remembered that a few years back, Mohlajee of The Statesman had written that since my natural bent was aggression, I would also do well as a half. It took the selectors a couple of years to understand what Mohlajee wrote.

For India's last match against Malaysia, the team ran short of players. Nearly every senior player claimed an injury, which made me volunteer to play in the forward line.

The sarcasm was lost on a defeated team. They took me for my word, but in their own absurd manner. They shifted Syed Ali from his usual position of inside-left to inside-right, and fielded me as an outside-left when they could have easily played me as an outside-right. Incidentally, outside-right was the position that my father played in, 40 years ago in the Berlin Olympics.

I scored two field goals as a forward against Malaysia, one more than what I scored in my usual position of a full-back in the World Cup an year ago.

Aslam Sher Khan ended up as the only hockey Olympian to be played as a full-back, half and a forward in the same Olympics. I hoped Indian hockey would not try me out as a goalkeeper next!

It was ridiculous, but I had by now learnt to put up with the Don Quixotes and Sancho Panzas of Indian hockey. I learnt to put up with the petty chauvinistic yardstick by which ability was measured, players were selected, camps were held, teams were groomed, and tournaments were hosted.

Playing for Indian Airlines