Why Karnataka’s Coorg is no more the ‘cradle of Indian hockey’
In August 2021, India’s 41-year wait for an Olympic hockey medal ended with the men’s team claiming the bronze after defeating Germany 5-4 in a thriller in Tokyo, Japan. While the entire country celebrated this moment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the euphoria carried a tinge of disappointment in a Karnataka district. Kodagu or Coorg, which is 250 kilometres from Karnataka’s...
In August 2021, India’s 41-year wait for an Olympic hockey medal ended with the men’s team claiming the bronze after defeating Germany 5-4 in a thriller in Tokyo, Japan. While the entire country celebrated this moment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the euphoria carried a tinge of disappointment in a Karnataka district.
Kodagu or Coorg, which is 250 kilometres from Karnataka’s capital Bengaluru, was once known as the “cradle of Indian hockey”. When the Manpreet Singh-led side gave India the first hockey medal at the Olympics since 1980, there were no players from Coorg or even from Karnataka state in the national squad.
The district has produced some of the finest hockey players in India who went on to excel on the international stage – be it the Olympics, World Cup, Asia Cup and many other tournaments.
From having a rich legacy of hockey to the current situation where the supply line to the Indian national team is almost zilch, the legends of the game from the region are “sad” and predict a grim future unless drastic steps are taken to bring back those glory days.
BP Govinda, MP Ganesh, MM Somaya, CS Poonacha, AB Subbaiah are among the big hockey names from Coorg, which has, over the years, sent more than 50 players to the national team.
There was a time when every household in Coorg either had a hockey player or one serving the nation in the Army. Now, it is a different era.
Former Indian hockey team captain Ganesh told The Federal that the current batch of youngsters from Coorg, among other reasons, don’t have the “hunger” to take up hockey or any other sport as a career.
“During my time, there were eight to nine players from Coorg in the national camp. Why was this? It was purely because of our passion and the hunger to play hockey and succeed,” 76-year-old Ganesh recalls.
Ganesh, who played in the 1972 Munich Olympics, two World Cups, two Asian Games, and later coached the Indian team, terms it a “pity” that no players from Coorg are in the national squad at now.
“It is a pity that no player from Coorg is in the Indian team. I feel sad to see this. I hope this changes soon and we see more representation from our district,” he said.
Subbaiah, a former goalkeeper of Indian team, shares a different perspective over the absence of Coorg players while admitting the passion for hockey in the district has slightly dwindled after the pandemic.
“Hockey India (HI) has a policy of picking a 33-member core group for the Indian national camp and they won’t change it for the next four years. This needs to be modified. There are talented youngsters who emerge during a four-year period leading up to the Olympics but Hockey India will not call them up since they already have the core group. This way, some talented youngsters from Coorg and other places, miss out on opportunities,” reasoned Subbaiah.
“In recent times, before the Tokyo Olympics, SK Uthappa, Nikkin Thimmaiah, SV Sunil, all three from Coorg were part of the Indian core group, and Sunil missed out making the final squad for Tokyo,” he added.
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Subbaiah, who has been in various roles – player, coach, administrator, feels due to lack of job opportunities for hockey players, Coorg’s youngsters have moved away from the sport.
“Times have changed. Earlier, there were plenty of jobs for sportspersons. Now, it is almost nil. Once they finish Class XII and graduation, Coorg’s youngsters are worried about their future. So they are more focused on academics than hockey. Even parents, who migrate to Bengaluru, Mysore or other cities, don’t encourage their kids to take up hockey but want them to concentrate on academics so that they can secure jobs in the future,” Subbaiah explained.
On the positive side, Subbaiah sees hockey being the only sport even now in Coorg that generates interest for summer camps, and is still the No. 1 sport there. But, looking at the current scenario, he rules out any Coorgi making it to the national side for the next Olympics in Paris in 2024.
“At the moment, I don’t see any promising youngster who can wear the senior India jersey at the 2024 Paris Olympics. But, after a couple of years, things will change as there are some promising junior players,” he stated.
Another reason for hockey getting less response in Coorg in the last few years is also attributed to the hugely popular Kodava Hockey Festival, which began in 1997, not being held for four years due to COVID-19. The event, which saw the participation of over 300 families, was hosted this month after a gap of four years, and there was massive support as usual. Each family in Coorg hosts the festival ever year.
“This month (April 2023), we had the Kodava Hockey Festival for the first time in four years. We saw massive crowds. In Coorg, this is a big event, and each family wants its children to take up hockey to at least play in this prestigious tournament. Hope this year’s festival inspires more youngsters to play the sport,” said Subbaiah.
Another former India skipper from Coorg – Arjun Halappa feels shutting down of Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) sports hostel at St Joseph’s Indian High School in Bengaluru is one of the major reasons for this problem.
“When I came to Bangalore in the early 1990s, I played hockey and went on to represent the country thanks to the SAI sports hostel at St Joseph’s Indian High School. But it was shut down. Thousands of aspiring hockey players from Coorg and other parts of Karnataka have benefitted from this hostel. The current generation is being deprived of this facility. I feel this is one of the biggest reasons for Coorg players falling behind in the line to make the Indian team,” rues Halappa.
“I urge the authorities to reopen the sports hostel at the St Joseph’s Indian High School. This is the need of the hour. I request the Karnataka state government to take the initiative,” Halappa said.
Former India striker and Olympian Sunil, who was the last player from Coorg to play for the country, felt things went downhill after 2016.
Sunil, who hails from Somwarpet in Coorg and played for India in 264 matches over 14 years, said, “Till 2016, everything was going well for Coorg. Five to six players from the district were regularly part of the Indian camp and four would make the squad. But after 2016, things went downhill. Between 2016 and 2021, I was the lone regular Coorgi player in the national squad though there were a couple of them who made intermittent presence.”
“I feel the pandemic did have an impact. There were no tournaments and getting selected to the Indian core group was impossible. And losing two to three years had a huge impact on a player’s career. Now, if your cross 27, it is tough to get into the Indian team,” Sunil, who was part of the gold-medal winning Indian team in 2014 Asian Games, said.
Another thing which is hindering the progress of youngsters is lack of astroturf pitches, according to Sunil.
“Playing a gravel surface and astroturf makes a huge difference. A youngster honing his skills on gravel surfaces will find it difficult to quickly adapt to astroturf. We need more astroturfs only in Coorg but entire Karnataka. And, one of the astroturf grounds in my native place – Somwarpet is still waiting to be completed for over 10 years now,” Sunil says.
He did admit that mobile phone culture has also had a role to play in children not showing keen interest towards sports. “The present generation’s mobile phone culture has had an impact on hockey. Kids are not ready to step out of their houses to play an outdoor sport, which is sad. My advice to schoolchildren is leave your mobile phones and step out.”
we had the Kodava Hockey Festival for the first time in four years. We saw massive crowds.
Sunil says it is also his responsibility along with the authorities to plan from now to make sure more Coorgi players and from other parts of Karnataka are in the Indian hockey team for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics while ruling out the possibility of representation in 2024 Games in Paris.
India’s long wait for an Olympic hockey medal has ended but Coorg, once the ‘cradle of Indian hockey’ hopes it doesn’t have to wait for long to revive its past glory. As many past players feel, the recent Kodagu Hockey Festival could be the much-needed fillip.
