SAG plays truant with hockey federation
Unsporting, is it to ask, if the Sports Authority of Goa(SAG) is promoting sports or killing it? That they promote sport is a genericdeduction. But dig a bit deeper and you will find out that they also kill. Bigtime! The casualty this time around is India’s national game -Hockey. Theyspiked it, internationally. If field hockey is not yet a discipline in theLusofonia Games, you have to thank the SAG.
Goa has a proud legacy in field hockey. Five Goans were partof the India team that bagged the gold at the London Olympics in1948. They didcome from the ranks of the Lusitanians, a force to reckon with in Mumbai, butcan Goa ever culture the breed of Leo Pinto, Walter D’souza, Maxi Vaz, LawrieFernandes and Reginald (Reggie) Rodrigues? Or Selma D’Silva and Loretta D’Souza, if the state sports bodyplays truant.
In 2008, the hockey team put up by the Goa HockeyAssociation headed by Herculano Dourado played against the Portugal side andLisbon and returned with the runners-up trophy from Lisbon. After which, theywere invited by Portugal Hockey Federation to participate in exhibition gamesat the Lusofonia Games in 2009. The exercise was a prelude to include thediscipline in the following Lusofonia Games. But something went wrong. The Goanteam failed to show up. And till today field hockey fails to find a place inthe Lusofonia games.
“I am feeling sad. I was the precursor. But the SAG totallyfailed. They should have taken a team,” rued Dourado. “I raised Rs 6-7 lakhs totake the team, nobody gave me anything. The SAG only gave us blazers and tracksuits. I could have taken a team on my own (the second time) but I could notraise the funds. They (Portugal federation) kept ringing me asking what theproblem was. Till the last moment they waited for me to get the team,” headded.
That there was a revolt brewing between the Goa Hockey Associationand the sports department is evident, but could the department hold the game toransom, is a question still playing on the minds of all those who played inLisbon and were practising hard to put up a better performance the second timearound.
“I did not want any conflict to be seen there (in Portugal)so I told the department to take a team. I told them if you do not want me totake a team, you atleast take a team,” Dourado revealed with a hint of grief inhis voice.
“The tour would have given us a boost. We had good chancesagainst other colonies. Except for Brazil, with a little bit of practise wecould have given the others a good fight. We had reached the finals earlier,”he revealed. Seconding this was the coach of the team, Alexander Remedios.
“They wanted to us to come back, but we could not go becauseof internal disputes. We felt so proud when we heard the Indian national anthemplayed at the finals in Lisbon,” said Remedios who has been a coach for thelast 25 years.
“Hockey would have been in the 2013 Lusofonia games, if wehad gone the second time. It would have been the turning point for hockey inthe state,” he added.
Dattesh Priolkar, a member of squad also felt the same.“ Itwas a totally new thing for me. It was great playing there. Though we practisedonly 3 months before the event we were matching them (Portuguese players) inevery move. We got hit in the last few minutes when one of our players wasgiven a technical and kept off the pitch for 15 minutes. I learnt a lot fromthat trip.”
That’s all history. But, come December 2, 2013, anotheredition of the Lusofonia Games will get underway, this time in Goa. And can beexpect Goa not to botch the Games? Only time will tell.
