Indian Hockey team today touched a new low by finishing at the bottom of the competition after being beaten 3-2 by South Africa in the 11-12 place classification match at the Olympic Games in London on Saturday.
This was the sixth straight loss at the Riverbank Arena for the Indian team, who made a return to the Olympics after failing to qualify for the 2008 Games in Beijing.
The previous lowest position that the country had occupied was eighth at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
For South Africa, Andrew Cronje (8th minute), Timothy Drummond (34th) and Lloyd Norris-Jones (65th) sounded the board, while Sandeep Singh (14th) and Dharamvir Singh (67th) scored for India.
India had finished 11th at the 2006 World Cup in Monchengladbach against the same opponents but this time, their South African rivals turned the table.
It was in the capital of Great Britain that the Indian hockey team had clinched the 1948 Olympic gold medal in what was independent India’s first major international sporting achievement.
Thirty-eight years later, when London was the venue of the 1986 World Cup, the Indian team was pushed to the bottom of the 12-team competition, losing the playoff to Pakistan for the last spot.
8 times olympic gold winners now to last position. Last time for China
did not even qualify... something has gone terribly wrong
Need of the hour is complete haul up. It is better to retain one or two and entirely new team be set up which should consist of youngesters who were to played for junior wolrd cup and seniiors who have not been playing here.
Lets face it we were simply not good enough.
The mistraps and dispossession of the our players was all to evident.
What's the point in displaying stickwork if it cannot be translated into goals.
That was evident to all of us who watched the other teams.
Sad part is we will never learn that the nostalgic Asian style hockey is buried.
Instead its the slick Eurpoean style which is dominant and who says it is not thrilling.
I sat up and watched all the matches and was thrilled by the speed , technique, talent
and team work displayed by the Europeans and the Oceanic teams.
What we will probably get is another vitriolic attack between the two factions as they
say Nero fiddled while Rome burnt.
One can only hope the Coach is given wider authority to ring in the chnages and save
our national sport or is it?
Long suffering indian hockey fan-
IPL, F1, baba ramdev, indifferent citizens, corrupt officials and then unmotivated sportsmen.
Just ranking where the blame should lie?
A very disgusting news. After all Hockey performance is no more than
sad reflection the way the country is run with no consideration for
talent. Order of preference is for money, language,religion, caste,
region and lastly merit! Mercifully London Olympics will end shortly
and will spare us of regular news of pathetic performance of Indians
there.
It is the Blue color of the team's dress which alone is responsible for the miserable results of all the matches played on the Blue trough.
Hockey team has otherwise played to the best of their capability. Alas! their best was not good enough in the competition.
This is very shame to Indian Teams.
They should resign from their different Posts voluntarily , where they are enjoying their life. Otherwise Indian Govt. should suspend them from their services.
Indian Hockey has died today at the london olympics, it seems that our players havev just forgotten to play ,and have totally lost the will to fight,.The team was not so bad, it seems to be a more of a mental thing,But the HI,should investigate the reasons for this PATHETIC DEBACLE &the heartache &shame caused to millions of genuine fans.
The Quota-Corruption Raj can take comfort that most Gold medals in the
National Games are claimed by Indians.
Maybe we should ask M S Dhoni to captain the hockey team and become its goal keeper.
If the counting of Nations participated in Hockey surely our team must
have given respect to those nation while loosing all matches in the
field. Thanks God participating number was twelve or slightly one or two
more,if they were 100 we had to stand at number 100. Thanks to the
Administration of the Hockey and players as whole.
Please Email the Editor