Pillay

Calcutta: The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) has taken the recent unimpressive performances of its national team in its stride and has chalked out further exposure trips and camps in preparation for the Athens Olympic Games. It has also, finally, taken into its fold pesky stalwarts, including the likes of the off-on genius Dhanraj Pillay.

The team (being called an ‘experimental team’ by officials after some stalwarts, including Pillay, Baljit Singh Dhillon and Baljit Saini were left out) has just returned from its Japan (Gifu) trip, where — in the four-nation Prince Takamado tournament — it failed to live upto the expectations, even being humiliated 1-6 by South Korea in the final.

The Indian men just about made it to the final, and that has been the cause for worry for the federation head honchos. They sat down Thursday, in an emergent meeting in New Delhi. And though K. Jyothikumaran, secretary of the IHF told The Telegraph over phone that this was an “informal meeting, the main purpose of it being to discuss the team’s performance and looking at future hockey meets before the Olympics and possibly including it”, there was more to it than just that. It comes out when he says they also talked “strategy”.

One form of that strategy was the decision that India will play two more preparatory four-nation meets. The first will be in Amstelveen from June 27 to July 4, involving Germany, Holland, Pakistan and India, and the second will be in Duesseldorf from July 16 to 18. This meet will have India, Germany, England and France in fray.

That will pretty much provide a wide spectrum of countries that Indian will have played versus before reaching Athens. Apart from the above, India have already played Australia, South Korea and Malaysia (some, though, by a “blend team”, a new phrase used by the federation’s media man).

As if that wasn’t enough, India will also spend time, as pre-scheduled, at a training camp possibly at the German Institute of Sport in Cologne. The dates of this camp have not been decided, but that is the premier institute of the country where the German team too trains.

The second form of that “strategy” is, it was learnt from a source, the re-inclusion into the trip squad of the stalwarts, including the controversial Pillay.

The IHF, is believed, has belatedly decided to pull up its socks, and possibly put an end to “experimental sides”.

There have been questions asked as to the necessity of experiments so close to the Olympics, and allowing the return of the prodigals could be a sign that the IHF wants to send out as to how serious it is on this issue.