It was the morning of the 24th of February 2015. The Cricket World Cup was at its peak, with all the teams raring to win the cup. All the Indians were supporting their country. India had defeated two strong teams. I was going through the newspaper. I, being an ardent cricket fan, started reading the articles on India’s victories. Suddenly, I began searching for one article. It was the article on the Hero Hockey India League. The final of the tournament was held on the previous day. I was shocked to find the result not mentioned on the newspaper. This may tell you how much the sport, hockey, is neglected.
Hockey is the national sport of our country, India. It is an ancient game being played since the last 100 years now. India has won as many as 6 gold medals in the Olympics playing for this sport. The hockey greats like Dhyan Chand have made a huge name for themselves. Let us see when India won these 6 gold medals-. If you notice, all these achievements occurred in the mid-twentieth century. It has almost been 40 years since India won a gold medal. Infact, India even failed to qualify for the 2010 Olympics.
Whom do we blame for this change? Well, it is not the players, but we, the people of India. Have you seen a cricket ground and compared it to a hockey stadium? There is a vast difference. Compare the lifestyles of cricketers and hockey players. The players playing in the hockey team are not getting the attention they deserve. Also the Federation is not giving them a huge salary. This is the reason for the decline of one of the most ancient sport of India.
Even though I do not follow hockey, I would love to see hockey fans. It is embarrassing to know that few people do not even know who Dhyan Chand, Dhanraj Pillai or Sardar Singh is. People should start following this sport.
The invocation of the ‘Hero Hockey India League’ is telling us that the Federation is trying to bring people’s interest in the game. But, this league has not interested too many people. This is because no famous celebrities work with the teams. On the other hand, in the IPL or the ISL, many celebrities sponsor the teams. This leads to a huge discharge of money. I am happy that hockey isn’t involved in all these businesses. This is because of a simple reason, and that is the growth of money will lead to the growth of politics, and that in turn will lead to the growth of corruption.
The Federation is taking little steps towards the development of this sport, and I hope they take longer strides. I conclude by saying:-
“Hockey is the national sport of our country,
Why should we let it down?
To bring the joy and spirit in a flurry,
And not to let the players frown.”
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