Winning and losing are part of every game
An old timer remembers the joy after India won the hockey world cup in 1975 and national mourning after 1982 Asia Cup hockey loss
The year was 1975. India had won the Hockey World Cup by defeating Pakistan. I was a student of Class IX at that time and we had listened to the commentary of this final match on the radio. Jasdev Singh was a popular commentator among sports lovers at that time because of his voice and manner. After the final whistle, we children started dancing in the streets.
After the hockey team’s victory, a pleasant event happened in our city. The whole team visited my home town, Malerkotla. The players did a victory procession in open jeeps in the main bazars of the town. People were showering flower petals from roof tops. Later, a programme was held at the local stadium where local MLA and Punjab’s then sports Minister felicitated the players. The victory and the event remain deeply etched in my mind.
Years later, the 1982 Asian Games were held in India. India was a huge favourite to win the Cup in Hockey. But unluckily, India faced a massive defeat at the hands of Pakistan by a huge margin of 1-7. The whole nation was plunged in a state of mourning.
There was much public anger against the team, especially the goalkeeper Mir Ranjan Negi, who was branded a "traitor".
Years later, in the Bollywood movie "Chak de India", Shah Rukh Khan played the role of Negi, who had later become the coach of the Indian women's team which won the 2002 Commonwealth Games gold under his mentorship.
When India achieves victory in any sport, our hearts are filled with pride but when India faces defeat, it is a moment of grief and mourning which, too, remains etched in our minds. But winning and losing are two sides of same coin and we should never hold any player responsible for it, as it is always a team effort.
Ravinder Kumar Jain, Ludhiana
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