The Asian Games 2023 have taught us once again that India is nowhere near global standards in football; can we please do something about it?
The country which boasts of being the champion in the first-ever Asian Games held at New Delhi in 1951, was thrown out of the Hangzhou event in the first round itself. It was after a series of political and business interventions that a second-rung football team was sent to China to participate in the event.
Forget about the reasons behind the indecisiveness in selecting a team to be sent to the major event in the Asian continent. Also, forget the fact that football is the most popular sport in the world.
What Hangzhou has proved is that India is light years behind other footballing nations, both in the quality of the game and its administration. While other countries had selected their national squads in advance and trained them for months, the AIFF remained inactive till the eve of the Games, pointed out Rufus Dsouza, a nonagenarian coach based in Kochi.
Magan Singh Rajvi, former Indian captain who led the country in the 1974 Tehran Asian Games is a disappointed man. Speaking to The Pioneer from Bikaner. Magan Singh, rated as one of the all-time greats in India, expressed his anguish: “Is there any serious game of football happening in India? Where are the football teams that reigned supreme during the 1960s to 1980s?” asked Magan.
Despite humiliating defeats by China and Saudi Arabia, the Indian coach Igor Stimac was a contented man. He has been quoted as saying that the results were on expected lines and there was no need for any disappointment.
The run-up to the Asian Games reminded one of a comedy of errors. The clubs employing the members of the national squad refused to release the players. Sunil Chhetri, the 39-year-old captain was the spearhead of the Indian attack!
It is the age at which international players hand up their boots and here we are, depending on a man past his prime to save Indian football. Most countries sent their U-23 teams to the Asian Games while India fielded Chhetri and Jingan (another burnt-out talent).
“The best thing we could have done is to skip the football events for the time being. Though the Asian Games is a serious sporting event, we are yet to understand the significance of the same,” said Rufus.
He pointed out that what India needs today is desi coaches. “We won gold medals in the Delhi and Jakarta Asian Games with teams trained by Indian coaches. A coach should know the psyche of his players,” said Rufus who is still active in Kochi’s maidans.
Harjeender Singh from Punjab, who represented India in many international tournaments and the son of legendary Inder Singh said that though there was a shortage of infrastructure in the country, India does not have players like Inder, Magan or Shyam Thapa. “These players had passion in them for the game while the youngsters consider the game as a means to get rich. Football is a serious profession and it needs dedication and devotion,” said Harjeender Singh.
There were great expectations when corporates like Reliance came forward to resuscitate the game by launching a professional soccer league. “But that has done damage to football in India. Most of the foreigners playing in the Indian league are discards from their own countries.
India is struggling to beat countries like Nepal and Bangladesh, ” said Rufus.
There was a report recently that India may bid to host the quadrennial World Cup Championship for the FIFA trophy! What will be the result if India is pitted against teams like Brazil Germany or France? Rufus, Magan Singh and Harjeender point out that the period between the 1960s to 1980s had many all-India football tournaments across the country. Rufus says he has yet to see the likes of Jarnail Singh, Inder Singh, Manjt Singh, and Shyam Thapa among the new-gen players. “We had coaches like S A Rahim, and Sukhwinder Singh who were capable of creating magic with the given talents. But that’s an old story,” reminiscences Rufus.
Magan, with the Rajput blood, is still optimistic. “Revive the tournaments and the teams. There will not be any dearth of talents. Tournaments like Rovers Cub in Bombay, Nizam Gold Cup in Hyderabad and Chackola Cup in Thrissur (the trophy weighed 145 sovereigns) drew even international teams to India.
Where are those tournaments?” asks Magan Singh. Veteran players are unanimous in their view that the AIFF has done nothing to save football in the country. The only people who have prospered through Indian football are the office bearers of the All India Football Federation and brokers who help them to import foreign players, according to Rufus. God save Indian Football.
(The writer is a special correspondent with the Pioneer; views expressed are personal)
