HARD TIME AHEAD FOR WORLD CHAMPION India's hockey tour of N.Z. 'thoughtlessly conceived'

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33962, 1 October 1975, Page 12

HARD TIME AHEAD FOR WORLD CHAMPION India's hockey tour of N.Z. 'thoughtlessly conceived'

f ßti

R. SRIMAN,

sports editor of ‘The Times of India. )

India has a gruelling time ahead on its hockey tour of New Zealand, which starts on Saturday at Dunedin and ends on October 26. Seldom has any sports tour been so thoughtlessly conceived, for the current world champions are billed to play 15 matches in 23 days, including four tests — the first two and the last two on successive days.

Knowing as 1 do the hockey tradition of the Kiwis, having watched their progress from the days when the peerless Dhyan Chand toured there, their performances in Olympic Games, and a tour of India in the 19505, I give the Indians little more than a 50-50 chance of taking the rubber in the forthcoming series.

Apart from the fact the heavy New Zealand turfs would be more conducive to the defence orientated hockey of the home team, the hectic programme is

bound to tell on the performance Of the visitors, who are required to play almost every day and travel long distances. I am no Cassandra and do not wish to present an alibi in advance for a possible disastrous tour, but since eight of the 22 are newcomers and likely to be cagey and cautious, I visualise a really hard time ahead for the tourists. But I am also aware the magical world of sports is full of surprises and this Indian team, fresh from the reputation of having won the World Cup and having avoided ,any morale-damp-

ening reverse in the preOlympic tournament. in Montreal, might yet do well.

I base this optimism on the sole consideration that Indian hockey, having undergone a renaissance as it were, is today at its representative best, unlike in the period from 1956 to 1972. Then it was at its nadir due to a peculiar Indian situation by which Indian sides during that period were not cosmopolitan and consisted heavily of players from a particular region. The success at Kuala

Lumpur (the World Cup) and the earlier splendid performance in the Asian Games at Teheran, in spite of losing against the run of play to Pakistani are proof that the present leadership in Indian hockey is bent on selecting only the very best. From that standpoint, this team is one which is sure to recapture the intuitive and inherent genius of traditional Indian hockey. That done, the skill and finesse of the present players could considerably neutralise the other shortcomings like undue strain and excessive fatigue due to . constant play and travel. The team is a grand blend of youth and experience, the oldest being the full-back Michael Kindo (29). The next most senior member is the captain, Ajitpal Singh (28). At the other end of the scale is Syed Ali (19), a brilliant outside-left who is sure to dazzle New Zealand crowds. The goal-keepers, Bahadur Singh Chetri and Ashok Dewan, are 20 and 21, respectively. V. J.

Thomas and Gilbert Lobo,| both forwards, are 20, and 5 the half-backs, Mehboob Khan and Onkar Singh are 21. Dewan and Chetri are s raw, although Dewan is the more experienced, hav-, ing played in Kuala Lum-; pur. Chetri is from the | famed Gurkha tribe, known ; for their pluck and valour. | Of the three full-backs, | Kindo is the soundest and | most experienced. His un-| canny anticipation stems | from inheritance, for he is); from the Adivasi tribe, a j clan known for bom skill. | Surjit Singh (24) is tall s and hefty and is known for ;; his prowess at penalty-cor- j ners. Aslam Sher Khan ? (22), tough and debonair, is i a crisis man. Swift of foot, i a hard tackler, rough and ; ready, he is also useful at s penalty-corners. He is the I son of a former Indian Ol- ’ ympian, Ahmed Sher Khan. , Ajitpal heads the half-' backs with the reputation that he is currently the world’s best centre-half. To my mind he is not the complete centre-half, although a great spoiler. He has the uncanny ability to be present at the most dangerous moment in the Indian goalmouth. His understudy, Mehboob, is a better centrehalf by old standards, but is not as tough as he could be. Of the right-halves, the ha r d-working Virender Singh (28), can act as a third back or sixth forward. Onkar is shrewd and sprightly and Bhaskaran (24) is tough and experienced enough to claim a semi-permanent position at left-half.

V. G. Phillips (25) is a brother of the coach and former Olympian, V. J. Peter. He is a mercurical right-wing who has speed and the ability to wriggle through the best defences. His inside partner will be Ashok Kumar, the most spectacular ball player in the team.

Aged 25, he is the son of Dhyan Chand. He is a genius who cannot be contained by the most wary of defenders. Many old-timers are apt to be nostalgic when seeing him. for there is an inescapable streak of the immortal Dhyan Chand in his play. Also an inside-right is a newcomer, V. J, Thomas, a brother of Phillipps and the coach, Peter. He is endowed with brilliant hockey sense and is capable of creating defence splitting moves, even in better fashion than his mentor and elder brother, Peter, who held this position in the Indian team not long ago. B. P. Govindar (24) and S. R. Pawar (26) are the two centre-forwards in the side. Govindar is a bustler and dashes so fast that he has crashed against and brought down many goalposts. He is nicknamed “Goalpost” Govindar. An intricate ball player, he is the stormy petrel of the side. Pawar is tough and crafty and there is a sense of delicacy in his play and movements, seemingly contradictory to his tough physique. Francis D’Mello (23) is an inside-forward. He made his debut at the inaugural World Cup at Barcelona in 1971, and from that brief appearance there is no doubt about his capability. Lobo is a hard-worker without much claim to brilliance, but is a dark horse. The outside-left will be the experienced Harcharan Singh (27), a horse-like runner and an opportunist. But he is not a patch on the sparkling Ali, the baby of the team, who is certain to be hailed as the find ofthe tour.

Kuttappa (25), a fullback, Albert Shaw (22), a right or centre-half, Kuldip Singh (27), a right-wing, and Lobo, were late additions to th? side. Shaw is an exciting prospect tipped to succeed Ajitpal.