Double pressure on Sardar’s boys

India got off to an impressive start on the opening day of the Asian Games. By noon Saturday as I write this piece Jitu Rai (gold, 50m pistol) and Shweta Chaudhury (bronze, 10m air pistol) had left their impress on the podium and the medals tally. So are India primed to exceed the 65 medals won at the 2010 Ghuanzhou Asia? I would be wary of exaggerated expectations. The Asiad is far tougher than the Commonwelath Games and the competition has only gotten stiffer. My reading is that if India can match the tally of the previous Games, give or take a few, it will be a fine effort.

That the number of athletes has been pruned by almost a third, to 516, this time is not really the issue. Indeed, the emphasis has been on ‘winnability’ rather than mere participation. This benchmarking is important and hopefully it will be continued in future too. But potential medal prospects like Sushil Kumra, Vijender Singh and the tennis brigade led by Leander Paes have opted out for one reason or the other which is a serious blow. Compounding this is the mess up of getting athletes to Incheon on time plus other pointless controversies like who will lead the contingent in the opening ceremony.

An event like the Asiad is hugely demanding in itself. There is pride and reputation personal and national at stake. Athletes can do without being burdened with more pressure. It is inexplicable and damning that the country’s sports authorities cannot still understand matters like acclimatisation, player morale etc. That who would be the flag-bearer at the opening ceremony should be reduced to a charade highlight the lack of cohesiveness and sporting culture in the country: what is a matter of great pride became a puerile debate.

Ultimately, hockey captain Sardar Singh carried the tri-colour. But contrived as this may have been, in my opinion it is symbolically pertinent: both in what Indian hockey meant in the past, and the need for the team today to come good here. Going back a quarter century, in multi-event tournaments India’s flag-bearer would almost automatically be the hockey captain. Hockey was India’s national game and this was the one sport where a medal always seemed a distinct possibility.

Much has changed in the last two decades, not much of it gratifying. Currently India are ranked 9th (13th in the women’s section) which may not seem such a handicap considering the top seven teams are from Australasia, Europe or Latin America, but there are compunctions nonetheless. Home team South Korea ranked 8th start as favourites, traditional rivals Pakistan are at 11 and Malaysia rank 13. China don’t figure in the top 20 but are always a threat in whatever sport they participate.

The big challenge for Sardar Singh and Co, however, is not merely to find a place on the podium but win the gold. Unless that happens, there is no automatic entry for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.Seen in a different perspective, India is perhaps the most crucial country for the FIH. A 1.2 billion strong population familiar with the sport and a fast-growing economy are imperative to its sustenance.

The FIH has revised the rules from the Asiad. Instead of two halves, there will now be four quarters of 15 minutes to make matches more engaging for fans and sponsors. Be that as it may, while at one level a gold for India would help gain direct entry to the 2016 Olympics, seen in a broader perspective, it would also give hockey the kiss of life. That’s the double onus on Sardar Singh and Co.