LOndOn DreAms - Chak de India

Hockey: National sport of India, it’s hard to believe but true. If you ask a child today he will not hesitate saying Cricket is the national sport of India.

More shocking is the pathetic condition of our national sport. The sport in which the Indian team is most successful in Olympic history with 8 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals. Dhyan Chand, best known as “Hockey Wizard”; the greatest player of all time and most remembered for his goal-scoring feats and for his three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, and 1936), while India was dominant in the sport. He scored more than 400 goals during his international career. You can imagine his greatness from - August 29, Dhyan Chand's birthday, is celebrated as National Sports Day in India; the Indian Postal Service issued a postage stamp in his memory. This Padma Bhushan award winner died of Liver Cancer in a general ward of AIIMS due to ignorance of Indian Government. That’s the history of Indian Hockey.

Indian Hockey team’s condition is also same like Dhyan Chand’s last days. You can judge the deplorable condition of Indian Hockey from this; once an unbeaten team for 6 Olympic Games in a row, now plays qualifying matches for it. But on Feb 26th 2012 the players gave a little tonic to the ailing Hockey, the Indian men's national hockey team has qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London after a gap of 8 years.

In the just concluded qualifiers after a long time Indian Hockey team seems like one unit, it was fast, it was energetic and hungry to win. It seemed like the good old times are back. The players performed so admirably, Michael Nobbs (Indian Coach) has done wonders; the players looked fitter, faster. This is just the beginning of the journey and the destination is still very far and the ride is only going to get tougher from here.

But sadly the officials are still the same, busy in pulling each other down. The fight B/W two sports body (Hockey India & Indian Hockey Federation) is getting nastiest. Just few days are left but still the players are not sure whether they are playing in WHS (World Series Hockey) or the Olympics Camp.

In this kind of administration the road to the Olympics is going to be harsh. Dear officials please resolve your differences and provide better platform to the team and bring back the lost glory of the National game.

Good wishes from a Hockey lover to the coach and the players to fulfill our London Dreams. Here's hoping for some more surprises from you guys……… CHAK DE INDIA