Last night at the Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup the host nation India bowed out of the competition following a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Netherlands. Their loss meant that no Asian team was left in the competition and the medals will be contested between European teams and Australia.
Some will tell you that this should come as no surprise. That Europe is now the home of Hockey.
This result is not just disappointing for India and their fans, but it should be one that concerns everyone in the game within Asia. As it confirms how the game has evolved and moved forward in such a way that the Asian nations are disadvantaged.
No doubt many will read that last line and be shaking their head in disagreement and uttering lines similar to ‘it is their own fault, they have failed to adjust to the modern game.’ Really?
Let’s take some time to look at some of the facts. The Hockey World cup started in 1971. In that first competition Pakistan defeated Spain in the final and India were victorious over Kenya in the bronze medal match; Kenya at that time were a team dominated by ex-pat Indians.
In fact it was not until 1986 that Asia did not have a team in the semi finals of the World Cup. It is worth noting that there have been no quarter-finals in the tournament up until this year, 2018.
Since 1986 an Asian Team has made the semi-finals in four of the eight tournaments. Pakistan and Korea being the two teams to fly the flag for Asia. Korea were the last team to reach this stage back in 2006 when they came fourth.
If we look at the next biggest tournament in the world of Field Hockey, the Olympic Games. As everyone who follows the sport knows, in the early years of this tournament it was dominated by Asia. India won six gold medals in a row from 1928-1956. Then Pakistan claimed Gold. In fact those two nations have won 11 Olympic Gold medals in 23 Olympic Games where Hockey has been played. However that figure can be reduced to 21 Olympics as India did not compete until 1928.
For the past four Olympiads no team from Asia has made the semi finals of the Olympic Games. Korea played in the Gold medal match in Sydney in 2000 while Pakistan played off for Bronze.
Yet from 1928 until the games in Seoul in 1988 at least one Asian team would be in the semi finals and usually two, India and Pakistan. Since 1988 when no Asian teams contested the medal matches, Pakistan has played off for bronze twice in 1992 and 2000, and Korea for silver in 2000.
There have been many who have tried to claim that the drop-off from Asian teams was the result of the dawn of the artificial pitch in 1976. Yet the records show in the immediate aftermath of this change these teams were still competitive. There is no doubt that it had an impact, as the installation was prohibitive in many Asian countries as a result of the cost. Now it is fair to say that many of the Asian nations have some of the best artificial pitches and hockey stadia.
At this World Cup in India there were four nations from Asia competing, India, Pakistan, China and Malaysia. China were appearing in their first World Cup finals. Pakistan were back after missing their first World Cup finals in 2014.
Malaysia bowed out at the Pool stage. China and Pakistan in the crossover games, and India in the quarter finals.
In Malaysia’s pool they lost to the Netherlands and Germany and drew with Pakistan. Pakistan also lost to their European opponents and in fact have only won one world cup game since 2010. India beat South Africa and Canada, but drew with Belgium. China drew with England and Ireland and lost to Australia.
After the Pool games China lost to France, Pakistan to Belgium and India to the Netherlands. So none of the Asian teams recorded a victory over their European opponents in the whole tournament.
To anyone who has watched the tournament they will have seen that most of the teams at this level now play a very similar style of hockey. The style of yesteryear that used to be played by the Asian nations, a fast counter-attacking game with fantastics stick work struggles to find success.
Malaysia has some of the most skilful players in World Hockey, and while many question their mental fortitude, it is strength of another kind where they are lacking. In fact it would appear that it is strength that many of the Asian teams are lacking.
The World Cup has shown that Hockey has become a game of strength and power, and here the European nations along with Australia and New Zealand have the upper hand.
Asian teams have had some outstanding coaches over the years, coaches who have tried to bring in styles of play that they feel will help these teams compete, but at the end of the day they simply cannot match the power game.
Hockey is not the same as football, where Japan realised that they could not beat teams playing a “European” style. Instead they looked at their strengths and looked to become even stronger in those areas. Their skill levels would be higher than many European sides, their pace far superior. Now they find they can compete by using that pace and skill and playing a high-octane game.
Is there a way that slighter sides can physically match their larger and stronger opponents? If so let us hope that one of the coaches finds it sooner rather than later.
Or do the powers-that-be need to look at the rules of the game. There are many who will say that Hockey already has too many rules, that they are too hard to understand and too many are open to Umpire interpretation. You will get no argument on all of those points here. However, something has to be done to restore some level of parity. Or the Asian teams, and the region, which is where the crowds are in the main, and the sponsorship dollars, will start to drift away. Why? Because they want to believe that their team has a chance of winning a tournament or ending up on the podium. Looking at the record of Asian teams in the Olympics and World Cups, many will soon realise that this is at this point in time simply a dream.
It was amazing to hear during this tournament a comment made about the Malaysian defender/midfielder Faiz Jali, along the lines of him being a troublemaker and a dirty player. This is a player who is 5ft 1in in his socks.(154cm). He weighs 53kgs. The fact that he can hold his own against some of the top international forwards is remarkable in itself. Just his reach alone would limit him against some of the top players.
For example the Netherlands Mirco Pruyser is 6ft 5in(195cm) and weighs 87kgs, Australian Tom Craig is 6ft 1in (185cm) and weighs 85kgs, even Germany’s Christopher Ruhr who is slightly shorter is 5ft 11in (180cm) and 77kgs. So you can see what Faiz Jali is up against.
Yet some will say that there is little or no room in the game for players of his physical size. If he starts to be labelled a dirty player then few of a similar stature will consider taking up the game.
Size is not such an issue in the women’s game and in fact Hockeyroo player Krissy Bates stated the reason she took up the game was that it was a game that suited players of all sizes. Yet is that still true in the men’s game?
This is not just a bleat about Asian teams no longer being competitive. It is about regrettably the game losing some of its artists, its magicians, players with unique skills who can turn a game on its head with a moment of magic. To be fair the European teams have lost similar players, but their structured play, power and strength have filled the void. Asian teams have shown they too can play with structure, where they lose out is in power and strength.
As one coach said recently, ‘in sport today too much time is spent in the gym rather than on the practice pitch. There should be no substitute for the skills you develop through practice.’
These are sad times for Asian Hockey. The question that has to be asked, not just in the region, but globally, is how to make them once again competitive.
Giving teams World Rankings points and seeing them climb the FIH rankings is simply window-dressing. France in this tournament and Ireland in the Women’s World Cup have made a mockery of the World Rankings points.
India came into the Hockey World Cup ranked five in the World. Their highest ranking in over a decade. Yet the truth is India has struggled in the past two years to beat teams ranked above them in the major tournaments.
At the Rio Olympics they were the only team to beat the eventual champions Argentina, but they were ranked higher than Argentina at the time.
At the Hockey World League finals in 2017, which India only attended because they were the host, after failing to qualify by right in London in the semi finals, lost to Germany and England and drew with Australia in their pool games. In the quarter finals they drew 3-3 with Belgium and won a shoot out before losing to Argentina. Of course they did then record a 2-1 victory in the bronze medal match against Germany, but there should be an asterix next to this result as Germany only had 11 fit players, and their reserve goalkeeper had to play as a striker, and he scored their goal!
At the Champions Trophy in Breda earlier this year India made the final. They did beat a team ranked above them, Argentina. Just as they had in London two years earlier when they beat Great Britain and made the final only to lose to Australia both times in a shoot out.
Sadly arguably Asia’s best team, certainly their highest ranked team, India although competitive could not climb over the top of their European counterparts. They could not get a victory when it really mattered. Was it any surprise that their quarter final was an extremely physical encounter? It shouldn’t have been, as that was the one area the Dutch knew they would come out on top.
There are some who are already putting the Asian performance down to ‘mental fragility.’ That is a cop out.
The Asian teams collectively played 14 games at the World Cup. They won two of those games – India v South Africa and Canada. They drew five games and lost seven. All of the games that they lost were to teams ranked in the top six, and all were teams with a power game and who were physically stronger.
The only place that the Asian teams cannot compete is when it comes to strength and the physicality of the game today.
