I still didnt understand why the people are blaming on Cricket facilities and comparing with other games. Our motive is we have to concenatrte on all the games and need to take steps to win.Ya i agree that Hockey is our national game and need to perform well.But at the same time we need to concentarte on all the games and show our nation to the world.Though we are laking in all the facilities and development,Olympic is the right place to show our nation to the world.Please all sponsers come forward and help to our people to improve our sports activities.Please dont concentrate only in cricket and do for all the games.
i dont know what the people like harpal singh are doing in indian team. he played school Boys like stuff and his lapses cost us dearly in three matches where clear goals were scored against no chance. Harpal and KPS Gill must be SACKED with immediate effect.
Dismal performance of "Mr Gills" team- dont know who to blame. If we think that we should get it back then I think it needs to start with a "revival" plan right from grass roots firstly to have a base of players to select from. Mr Gill needs to understand that there is a difference between containing terrorism and reviving hockey and needs leadership styles. Determination to firstly make hockey a game that this country loves today - not in the history. Talk to the Government and start with a revival plan over 4 to 8 years and not 4 to 8 weeeks before a major tournament by changing coaches etc
How many in India really know him?. Ask a school child and he will recite the name of whole criket team but other games? Huh. Look in your own "Girebaan" first then blame the players.
First of all Rip Off all the respective officials of each individual sporting event.
Dear Dhanraj,it was you who had said "Its now or NEVER" so now all of us know 'YOU WILL NEVER',so retire and go away without cribbing and crying.Which you are doing all the time.
I wonder what Mr K P S Gill Knows about the game!I hope you read this msg and are as sad as we are.I think you shud resign and give some else a chance.Its high time.
Dhanraj, We did not have great expectations from our team after its poor showing in exibition matches just before Olympics. Yes, i had expected the team to be 5th or 6th in final ranking, but now with the current showing and the ensuing encounter with Pakistan, I hope the team will not do better than 7th place.
I see many Indians whining about hockey team's performance. They only remember Hockey being our "national game" once in four year when olympics come. All other times, they are too busy adulating chocolate faced wimpys playing lazy mens' game (i.e., cricket) in their ironed shirts and pants with coke/ pepsy in their hands.
If you haven't played Hockey at least in your college team, or you never encouraged your own offsprings to play Hockey in school, you have no right to complaint since you don't really support Hockey. Also, you don't understand what it takes to be successful in Hockey field. All you want are the medals at somebody else's blood at sweat at their own cost and time.
Also, give me break about that tax payer's money and all that nonsense. All Hockey players play hockey at their own expense and time for year after year before they are picked to play for the national team. All they get from the employer or government is a princely sum of a few hundred Rs to cover their food, and third class hotels to stay during matches. A cricket player gets shoe polishing allowance more than that. Why don't you complain about this first?
It is really sad that a player of Dhanraj Pillay's calibre is trying to give excuses for India's poor performance at the Athens Olympics. When India fielded players who were past their prime, like Dhanraj Pillay himself, it was a forgone conclusion that the performance would be bad. In my opinion, India would have done better without these old warhorses.
I don't feel sorry for our hockey teams performance, I feel sorry for the effort & facility provided for our team. Howmany of us play the game ?(our national game) how many academy are set up for the promotion of the game ? what r the facility enjoyed by the players ? How much they earn per game ? what life style do they maintain ? it all matters a lot. We have invested every thing for one sport i.e. Cricket still it yield such measurable result. Gone r the days when the great Kapil Dev who won the world cup, else we played just another game. We say we have greats like the Tendulkars,Gangulys, Dravids & Yuvrajs but they failed time & again leaving all of us to analyse their game & talk a lot abt their own records.
Dhanraj has been our best hockey player for a long time and his opinion must be respected. His performance on the field in this Olympics is not his best surely but what can you expect after the way he has been dropped time and again only to be recalled and dropped again. In 2002 Indian hockey did start looking good again after number of wins abroad and we were harbouring hopes of revival but don't forget, Indian hockey team got its first sponsor - Sahara, very recently and there was hardly any money or facilities for our players. Add the autocratic ways of the IHF boss K.P.S.Gill who sacked our coach 15 days before the Olympics!! There is no way we can blame our players if such a situation exists. I have also woken up late at night to see India's matches and was completely frustrated by poor defense and absence of basic hockey skills like trapping and passing but the problem is the existing structure of our federation. Also, media is doing irreparable harm in highlighting the rift between the players. I want to ask, why does our public give chance after chance to our stupid cricket team who get enormous money, have the best coaches and facilities and still are unable to perform!
