Women’s hockey in India is facing some tough times, but the team is focused on Commonwealth glory.
Coach M K Kaushik has seen the best and the worst of Indian hockey. And as he prepares for one of the biggest challenges for the women’s hockey team, he has no intention of letting external factors come in the way of his team’s glory. It’s easy to be bogged down by various factors and he is aware that shoulders do drop, and that heads are shaken every now and then, but that shouldn’t be an excuse for non-performance. “Either we can continue feeling sorry for ourselves or perform in such a way that the detractors shut up,” he says, with a determined tone in his voice.
“It’s a big year for us with the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games as well as the World Cup in August,” Kaushik says about the forthcoming assigments. The World Cup is something that he is especially looking forward to. In the last edition, the team finished a lowly 11th. This time he wants them to do better. While he is aware that the all-important Commonwealth Games being played in the front of a home crowd is a big motivation for his team, he knows the importance of the Asian Games as well. “The top three teams qualify for the Olympics, and we want to make sure we do that,” he says.
There have been noises about the lack of international games for the team in such an important year. The team has just got back from China and Japan, having played seven matches. Though the team lost six of them but Kaushik says that the tours have been extremely beneficial. “We have to play foreign teams before major tournaments, as it helps in judging where we stand.”
The Indian women’s team has a lot of pedigree when it comes to the Commonwealth Games. They won the gold medal in 2002 and the silver at the last edition held in Melbourne. And Kaushik is confident that the team will do well. “If they are focused enough, then they can do pretty well at the Games,” he says confidently.
This year has not actually bring on the brightest of notes for the hockey team. It was entangled in a bitter dispute with the hockey federation over the kind of financial rewards the team members were getting. While the players come from humble backgrounds — one woman’s father is a rickshaw-puller — the players felt that they weren’t being treated equally. While Kaushik refuses to comment on the issue, he says that the team is united on all fronts and as a coach that’s all he can ask for. Representing their country is a matter of pride for these players and they do give their sweat and blood for the cause. So it’s natural that they are rewarded. “We didn’t want to be treated as prima donnas, and all we were asking for was fair treatment,” says captain Mamta Kharab. She says that it was heartening to see support comw from all corners. Corporates like Sahara, state governments, industry bodies all came forward to ease the financial burden, but Kharab says that at some level it wasn’t about money. “Of course, you need money and some players need more than ever as they have sacrificed a lot to wear the national colours,” she says. But it was about equality as well. Comparing the results between the men’s and women’s teams, it’s fair to say that the women have achieved as much or probably more.
Kharab knows that there will be more eyes on them than usual but is confident of her team-mates producing the results. “It’s a big year in terms of events,” she says reiterating the stance of her coach. And she feels that although better preparation can be done in terms of playing more matches, the team will deliver when it’s needed the most. In the test series against Japan, senior players including Kharab and Deepika Murty all stayed home. It was an opportunity to test the youngsters. Murty says that the team has the right blend of youth and experience.
Kaushik, on the other hand, feels that they will face a stern test on all fronts, but maintains that the team will give it their best shot. “We intend to do the country proud,” he says. He is aware that there will be the usual problems of not getting proper training facilities at times, but doesn’t want to think about all that. “My job is to make sure that the team is well-prepared and delivers results,” he says. Come October, we will see if the team is capable of delivering results against all odds. At least it won’t be unknown territory, as that’s what they have been doing for a long time now.
