Has Cricket Killed other Sports in India?

[rocketboy]

Its a national shame that we did not qualify for Olympics this time. I feel very sad. Read a news paper item in which Mani Shankar says he can't do anything about the functioning of the Indian Hockey federation as the Olympics Charter prohibits govt interference in National Sports Federation. What a lame excuse !!!. KPS should do what his deputy has done . We've had enough of you Mr Gill . While sacking KPS won't redeem our lost pride , it is only fair that the authorities take full blame for the debacle. Well it all started with the loss to the lowly rated Chinese at the Asian games. That should have sounded an alarm bell for things in store for the future. There is no point in talking about it now . It hurts man especially when you know that the legend Dhyan Chand once played for this very same country . I haven't seen him play, no not even in the videos .I have only read some articles on him . His exploits on the field are truly inspiring . Dhyan Chand used to play with such dexterity that once some players protested he was using some kind of magnet to hold the ball to his stick. There is also this other story that Hitler was so much impressed with his playing skills that he offered Dhyan Chand some very high post in his army . In return Dhyan Chand should agree to play for Germany. Of course our hero turned down the offer . Like every good story that has a sad ending our hero led a life of abject povery towards the end. Now what has happened in our hero's life and the shabby treatment meted out to him has very much relevance in the current context. Just see what those guys who play a third class game called cricket ( Yeah man truth sucks . But sooner or later you'll have to face it) earn and contrast it to what these hockey players get. Sad isn't it. Its like two teachers working for the same school, handling the same subject for the same class for the same no of students.But one gets a benz car, an airconditioned room to teach while the other is made to ride a crudely laid country track full of potholes on a rickety bicycle and then made to sit under the scorching sun to teach his lessons. I don't blame the hockey players. Playing for the country is just not enough to motivate them . Man you need money. ' I strongly recommend levying high tax from the cricketers for all the income they earn from playing for India as well as their commercial endorsements and utilizing the money to promote some useful sports like hockey, football, basketball, swimming etc etc ( Actually all sports except cricket).

[directhit]

dude, its so lame to blame it on cricket for hockey standards being low :P
and whts that with the comparison of same school/teacher/students - first of all its not even the same school - one is govt school and another is like international school (bcci) - let another non-govt body take over hockey or any other sports you would see the results. why blame it on bcci/cricket when our govt sucks and dont do anything for the uplift of the game!! and didnt the same dhyan chand play so wonderfully well even when he wasnt paid this big money etc?! do these guys even play to their potential and whts with dhanraj giving statements like 'they use chak de india' for cricket if he wins they wud have used it for hockey too !! do the hockey players get their home attacked and ridiculed in public for this pathetic performance - cricketers do get their stick when they dont perform

[crajkumar_be]

http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/12/stor...1256062000.htm

Support the hockey team: Tendulkar

Mumbai: Following India’s defeat at the hands of Great Britain in the Olympic qualifier at Santiago, Sachin Tendulkar, talking to The Hindu, said: “As a hockey-loving nation it’s very disappointing that the Indian hockey team has not qualified for the Beijing Olympics, but one must also recognise the fact that the players must be feeling the disappointment much more than anyone else.

“This is the time all Indians must encourage and support the players. Once you fall, it’s important to get up. There will be stumbling blocks in sports. The players will get up and we must give them our helping hand.

“As a nation we need to be with the players, support them when they need the support. We should not run them down. No sportsman wants to fail. They have tried. Ups and downs are always going to happen in sports.” — Special Correspondent

[wrap07]

it is an undeniable fact that cricket gets most of
the media attention as also govt attention than any other
sport in India. Even the public go crazy and overboard about
it. It is not treated like a sport. Even the English who invented
the sport were not as mad as we are. Any how, every country
has a national sport which is in keeping with their strengths and tradition. As far as we are concerned, Hockey was the national sport for quite some time. From what i have read, we were playing the game so beautifully and technically, other teams were totally stunned. But, due to emergence of cricket as the main sport and other unknown reasons, hockey has been pushed to the background. I feel hockey takes a lot out of players like football and they need lot of encouragement and govt or some board support. Like NCA is there for cricket, we have to have Hockey academy also roping in former greats. We will succeed

[sarna_blr]

Cricket has killed this thread also.......

[rocketboy]

There is one more reason for the decline of hockey in India . The style of play has changed after the entry of Europeans into the game. If you have clearly watched the game over the years you surely would not have missed noticing this. Our style of play lays emphasis on honing individual skills like dribbling and our guys are really good at it. But Europeans have developed their game differently. They are very good at passing the ball. When a guy holds the ball and an opponent approaches him to take possession of the ball the European guy usually will not try to slip past . He will pass the ball to one of his team mates , one who is not guarded . Though this has taken the sheen away from the game, it works for them . And also we haven't produced a quality penalty corner specialist like Sohail Abbas (Thaadikaranuga nadu ) or Bovelander ( Netherlands) . The Dutch have mastered the skill of converting penalty corners into goals. In hockey games, usually, the penalty corners are the ones that decide the outcome of the game.