Barring few hiccups and glitches related to the sale of tickets the Hockey World Cup at Bhubaneswar seems to be going well, with only a day left before the final whistle signals the end of the event.
The Opening ceremony was mostly well organized with our usual tendency to over do and go overboard with excessive Razzmatazz and Zamboree. This global eveny will go a long way in putting a hitherto unknown state of India on the world map, in spite of national media not giving the tournament its due coverage, busy counting the votes in the Assembly Elections and number of times Taimur Ali Khan, a Bollywood celebrities' kid farts and burps a day.
I have seen much more coverage on social media about Madhuri's dance, Sah Rukh's monologues and Salman's histrionics in Odisha during the gala opening ceremony - but rarely any decent coverage or analysis of the game by the so called fans. Some complained about Off Side when goals were scored, without realizing that there is no "off side" in hockey. For most of them, going to Kalinga Stadium is akin going to a local MELA (Fair) - to hang out, have some fun and food, and for the young and some old alike to ogle and flirt with girls.
Many spectators lack the basic knowledge and understanding of the game to go beyond shallow reporting - often going overboard with inordinately superlative accolates on team India's performance in the initial stages of the tournament. Many even predicted India lifting the Cup, a bit premature and preposterous assessment considering our long history of not winning a major tournament since 1975 - a good 43 years back.
In Odia there is a saying - NAI NA DEKHUNU LANGALA (becoming naked before seeing the river). It simply means jumping into conclusion way too soon. After a brisk and promising start, true to our self we faltered against Netherlands in the all important Quarterfinal. We failed to take advantage of our home advantage which doesn't come often. Our cup of woe relentlessly continues.
Yet it is a good beginning. The Indian side has been constantly improving though it needs a dose of killer instinct in the veins wrapped around our Hockey sticks. It's time we bring a foreign coach to infuse professionalism - for we have a tendency to listen better to the outsiders than our own. The Russian writer Leo Tolstoy said two things are important in war - Patience and Time. The same can be extended to modern day Sports.
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