Table of Contents
Introduction:
The glorious days of Hockey are long lost and Cricket has dominated every game in India.
Right !
Well, if you ask people on the streets of India, about what they think is the National Game of India, their answer would most probably be Cricket. Point is actually Hockey in India deserves a better treatment than what is being given today for Hockey is actually ‘India Ka Game’…
But, do we treat both Hockey and Cricket equally in India ??
How has Cricket become the ‘so called National Game of India’ !
Let’s Discuss.
Hockey Vs Cricket
India won six consecutive hockey gold medals at the Olympics between 1928 and 1956. It was ‘The Game Of Our Nation’ and that’s why whenever the men in blue showed their dribbling skills on the green turf at a Games venue, our hearts went out to them. Such was Hockey’s glory !!
In 1983 India won the Cricket World Cup and instantly its charm reverberated throughout the country. It was in this decade that Indians were introduced to Televisions as a large-scale that helped the cause.The 80’s scripted the decline of Indian hockey, and heralded the rise of Indian cricket as a popular game.
Hockey’s loss was Cricket’s gain clearly !!
Lets now talk about the Most Influential Hockey Players Then And Now !
Dhyan Chand, Balbir Singh Sr, Roop Singh, Leslie Claudius, Udham Singh, K D Singh Babu, Shankar Lakshman, Ajit Pal Singh etc..are names of the Hockey legends that India had produced, then.
Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Varun Kumar and Amit Rohidas etc are some of the notable players of the Current Indian National Hockey team.
On that note, India’s top Sports Strategist Cum Sports Advisor, Hirav Shah says
“The Current Indian Hockey Team Has a World-class Backline and The Team should mentally and physically prepare for the next Olympics”.
Also, if we talk about the notable Cricketers of India, then and now, then the list goes on and on and on. It’s in fact an endless list starting from Sunil Gavaskar to MS Dhoni, Kapil Dev to Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag to Virat Kohli etc…
Fact of the matter here is, every Indian knows and celebrates our Indian Cricketers but in case of Hockey, we already know it, so let’s discuss the reasons for the same, now !
Why is Cricket more popular than Hockey?
The reason for this is the genuine craze and enthusiasm for cricket and the fact that most people in India want to play cricket and therefore display a keen interest in the Indian Cricket team.
On the other hand Hockey is a game that has remained hidden for a long time. Most people don’t even know that India actually has a hockey team. This is not because of the ignorance of people but also the fact that the media has a huge role to play in this.
On one hand, every cricket match of India is shown on TV, that is widely seen across all towns, cities and villages of India and and all Cricket- stories are also published in most newspapers and magazines.
On the other hand, Hockey is talked about in newspapers and magazines but none of the matches are generally aired.
In addition to this Indian Cricket Team has a fan following all over the world. On the contrary Hockey doesn’t have even the national following at that large a scale.
While a Hockey player earns about 100 grand a year, Cricketers earn in millions. The thing is in the last few years the Indian Cricket Board BCCI (Board of Cricket Council in India) has emerged to be the biggest cricket association in the world. This is because of the success of the Indian Team in addition to the constant support of the population both monetarily and through support by attending matches constantly; in fact people come in numbers such as 70,000. On the other hand the Hockey Matches hardly have any audience.
Not only this, while cricketers advertise in TV’s as ambassadors of various brands, Hockey players are not even involved in advertisements. Also Indians who immigrate to different countries still support the Indian Cricket Team when they come to their countries. On the other hand, such stories are not seen and heard in case of Hockey.
So, What’s The Way Forward To Popularise Hockey !
Even though the spirit of Hockey is really low but it’s not lost, it just needs some aid and consultation, says Hirav Shah, Astro Strategist, Sports Astrologer and The Most Influential Adviser in the field of Sports/Games.
Hirav Shah further adds,
There are a lot of positive changes that have been implemented by HI (Hockey India) since it took over (in 2009).
HI (Hockey India) hosting some of the top tournaments in the country has helped in developing the sport and infrastructure in the country. India in the current scenario boasts of the best world-class facilities to host events, the world saw India’s hosting capabilities during the 2018 Men’s World Cup which raised the bar at a global level.
The HI has a vision programme and the mission has been largely successful with the men’s team being ranked at No.4 in the world and women ranked at No. 9 in the FIH World Ranking.
It helped players raise the bar. It was a big platform to groom young talent. Spending more than a month with world class foreign players did a lot of good as we could see personally how they go about their game, preparation and mental makeup, body language etc.
As part of its effort to regain the game’s glory, and popularise it like ‘Cricket’, HI has chalked out plans to develop the game at the grassroots and domestic level. The first big priority is to have annual National championships for all age groups i.e sub-junior, junior and senior (both men and women). Both junior men and women have shown considerable results in International Level Hockey tournaments.
As for the hockey activities, the National coaching camps for men and women are currently underway at SAI, Bengaluru. The SAI had assured that the camps will continue until the end of November for men and until the second week of December for the women’s team
Conclusion
With a very young National Team, a host of talented Hockey Players breaking through and other aspects mentioned above, the future definitely looks bright for Hockey in India says Hirav Shah, The Most Influential Astro-Strategist Of Our Country.
Shah , who is also the most influential adviser in the field of sports/games concludes by quoting,
Today, If You are a Sports Person (Hockey, Cricket or Any Game /Sport) Wanting To Perform To Your Capabilities & Ace,
You Need SPORTS ASTROLOGY ALONG WITH SPORTS STRATEGY !!
