Copy Book: Indian hockey needs to sell itself

It's been an eventful week for Indian hockey, losing to Pakistan in the group stages but then coming back to beat them a few days later to win the Asia Cup.

It was a fantastic performance and great to watch. I watched a hockey match after a long time and it was great to see how the Indians soaked the initial pressure and then wore down Pakistan towards the end.

With its recent success and the growth of the media, hockey finds itself right under the spotlight. The profile of the game has probably never been bigger. While a higher profile is fantastic for any sport there are certain challenges that come with it.

The pressure both on and off the field increases and learning to cope with it is a skill that has to be learnt.

Indian hockey, for long, has always complained that it hasn't received its due share of recognition and media coverage but today it finds itself in a position from which they can raise the profile of both the players and the game and inspire and enthuse young kids to play the game.

A sport needs heroes that young kids can look up to and be inspired and enthused by. Growing up, I always wanted to become a Gavaskar, Vishwanath or a Kapil Dev. I knew all their statistics and read every little information you could find on them.

While there wasn't much television coverage, there were magazines and newspapers from which my friends and me would soak in all the details about our stars. Even though we hadn't even seen them from closer than hundred yards, we felt we knew them and we felt happy when they succeeded and sad when they failed.

Most young kids today can rattle off the playing and personal details of a Tendulkar, Harbajan or even Partiv Patel but how many would know about a Ignatius Tirkey or Sandeep Michael?

We would all like to know how Sandeep feels about being the best young player in the tourney or what is going through Devesh Chauhan's mind when he has to defend his goal from one of those lethal drag flicks.

Sadly though, I have hardly heard much from them. I'm sure a lot of them are interesting people and characters and their stories would inspire young kids not only in hockey but other sports as well. Banning the players from interacting with the media doesn't help.

I agree that there can be a huge amount of pressure from the demands of the media today. With the increase in television channels, newspapers and websites, it's impossible to be able to meet the demands of all concerned, but a certain amount of accessibility is a must and critical for the growth of any sport and all involved in it must take responsibility for the continued success of the sport.