Asian hockey is on its death bed

COMMENT By Ajitpal Singh

ASIAN hockey is dying a slow death and if the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) fails to act quickly, the continent will soon be just a post script.

India and Pakistan were the dominant force until the International Hockey Federation (FIH) decided that hockey should be played on astroturf, and it was first introduced at the 1976 Montreal Olympics Games when none of the Asian nations had the turf.
The "no offside" rule implemented in 1998 by the FIH further widened the gap between Asia and Europe. Since the rule change, Asian teams have not won a single major title.
Pakistan hold the distinction of being the last Asian team to win Olympic gold and the World Cup which they did so in 1984 in Los Angeles and in Sydney in 1994 respectively.
Currently, only South Korea, the World No 5, are competitive enough to challenge Europe and the Oceania nations. Their proudest moment was taking silver in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The Koreans also finished fourth in the 2002 (Kuala Lumpur) and 2006 (Germany) editions of the World Cup.
Asian hockey begs a complete overhaul and AHF must take the initiative to make changes. Europeans have improved out of sight because of their sound structure. They were the first to maximise the quality of their game, fitness, skills and strategy by adopting scientific means.
They took their hockey very seriously unlike Asian teams, who were in self-denial. The Asians believed that their "skill conquers all" was enough to win titles. But they were proven wrong.
Clubs in Europe play a vital role in terms of hockey development. These clubs have a sound structure, borrowed from their football counterparts, and it is now paying dividends.
Malaysia's former captain S. Kuhan, when met in Kuantan, said that the structure of European club hockey "was very organised".
According to Kuhan, who had short playing stints in Europe, every club put emphasis on development at every age-group and most have at least 18 different teams -- from the under-10s to seniors.
This system gradually encouraged wider participation among non-traditional hockey-playing nations like Austria, Turkey and Switzerland to name a few.
And because of this Europeans are improving at a faster pace. This was painfully evident when the Austrian Under-21 team beat their Malaysian counterparts 2-1 in a Four-Nation tournament last year. This result was unthinkable a decade ago.
Clubs in Europe are registered hockey associations and are powerful entities in their respective country. People pay to join these clubs just to play weekend hockey.
Unlike Asia, Europe has its geographical advantage. Players from France can travel to the Netherlands over the weekend to play hockey and return in time for work.
This is why there is greater participation in the sport in Europe which Asia lacks.
The European hockey calendar is packed with activities and players, if they are not internationals, can look forward to club hockey.
Most European nations have well structured club leagues. The champions of these countries then play in the hugely popular European Cup. This is why the standard between the bigger hockey-playing nations and their smaller counterparts is narrowing.
It is vastly different in Asia where clubs neglect development as they feel that is the duty of the respective state or regional associations.
Participation is controlled because state and regional associations do not have sufficient funding to conduct a full-fledged development programme.
Club hockey in Asia is alive but is not as competitive as in Europe. Also in Asia, most domestic leagues are dominated by just two or three teams.
Asian-level club competition is dead but the AHF took a step in the right direction by reviving the Asian Championship last year which local champions Ernst & Young won. But sadly, bigger hockey-playing nations, except for Pakistan, did not send their teams.
Asia also lacks international tournaments. The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is the only annual tournament in Asia. Any schoolboy will tell you this is not the way to develop hockey in Asia. The AHF must ensure that there is at least one tournament in each hockey-playing nation in Asia.
The AHF, no doubt, is working closely with its 29 affiliates to develop the game in Asia but what it is currently doing is not enough. It should watch and learn from the Europeans. The ongoing Asia Cup in Kuantan has only seven teams competing because smaller nations, if they had entered, would suffer embarrassing defeats which would not be good for Asian hockey.
Bangladesh were promoted to the Asia Cup competition after winning a second-tier tournament last year. But sadly, they have failed to make an impact, finishing last in Kuantan.