Indian women's hockey: Nurture them well, and they will excel

Up to seven Indian women hockey players are reportedly anemic

It is our earnest duty to pay homage to the Indian soldiers killed while defending us. We salute their supreme sacrifice. Also, we must condemn the brutal attack on football fans in Pakistan.

A lot has already been written in total appreciation of the truly deserving young players of women’s hockey team. Their glorious victory has shown a new ray of hope to an otherwise neglected game. It has once again proved that there is no dearth of hidden talent spread beyond city limits. In fact, most of the fans believe that this victory is a result of dedicated individual inputs and obsession for victory carried all along by Team India.

But there exists a hardcore ground reality. A prestigious news paper, Hindustan Times, has published a story in their sports page today, highlighting a statement given by former coach Michael Nobbs.

He has claimed that as many as seven players of the winning squad were anaemic. He has further claimed that due to a lack of required red blood cells, the players easily get fatigue and laziness, so their achievement and contribution is worth applauding.

He has further stressed that this is a common feature among girls, but in India this has become a very serious problem.

How can one expect them to compete with the strong and healthy players of Europe? Despite these problems, their achievement of grabbing a bronze in the World Cup becomes a wonderful milestone!

Nobbs has congratulated the young girls and said that his two daughters are the part of the Australian system, which takes care of their health, apart from their skill. He has emphasised that India will have to adopt the same effective attitude to save the identity of these girls, many coming from villages.

Meanwhile, many ministries, PSUs and other organisations have declared a number of cash awards for the winning team, which will definitely boost the morale of these young girls and the supporting staff. In fact, honours and recognition gives you more inspiration than the cash awards.

We all must acknowledge Nobbs for raising the relevant issue relating to the health of the players. This definitely shows the compassion he carries for the young Indian women hockey players. Some time back, I had read a status report of the United Nations, envisaging the immediate need for undertaking a programme to eliminate health issues among young Indian girls.

It is a matter of relief that the central government has already under taken an effective programme through the ministry of health and family welfare, along with the cooperation of voluntary organisations for distributing iron pills and vitamin tablets among school girls. Though the programme is running successfully, utmost care is required to maintain the desired level of the tablets distributed.

Hopefully, the other sports federations will also take notice of this situation and take all necessary steps to protect the health of Indian athletes, especially young women sports persons.