A great beginning for HIL, but is India watching?

It has been almost 3 weeks now since we started watching great hockey action everyday. The level of hockey being played is truly world class and all the teams except Mumbai Magicians have been able to play up to their potential. The tournament is peaking at the right time and so are the teams.

All of us have seen how young Indian players are performing on the world stage. Although Sandeep Singh is the top scorer of the tournament as of now, I’ve become a die- hard fan of Mandeep Singh from Ranchi Rhinos. It has been a treat watching the young lad with so much intelligence in his play in front of the opposition goal.

I was watching Saturday’s match between Ranchi Rhinos and Jaypee Punjab Warriors, where both the goals were scored by young Indian forwards Malak Singh and Mandeep Singh with such a fine display of goal scoring skills. I am sure these young lads are going to learn a lot from their European teammates.

It has been always a treat watching Sardar Singh on the field. Now there’s also personal satisfaction in watching Sardar Singh, leading his team at the top of the table. I personally wish him good luck and would love to see him lifting the trophy in a tournament where almost all the world class players are participating. This cannot match the satisfaction of being on the podium of an Olympics or World Cup, but still it will be a big personal achievement for the Indian captain.

On the other side, I feel disappointed to see not much people discussing hockey in most parts of the country. I seriously feel our national game needs a very professional approach to make it popular amongst the masses. The amount of coverage hockey has got so far in daily newspapers and TV channels is next to nothing.

The league is a good start but it has to continue in the years to come for tangible results to come out of it. If feasible, should be extended to another cities like Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Bhopal etc. Organisers should have more statisticians employed, making the game more popular by churning out interesting statistics about the game to the general public. Midfielders don’t score goals, so how would the common Indian public realise that Sardar Singh is one of the great players Indian hockey has ever produced?

How about some TV polls on the best goal of the tournament, Player of the tournament etc. to make the game more popular in the country? Although I’m not sure what will make the Indian media and public look beyond reality shows on the TV!