1975 heroes downcast after defeat

kuala lumpur: there are quite a few former indian hockey captains and stars, all contracted to write columns for various newspapers and news agencies across the country. there''s ajitpal singh, skipper of the victorious 1975 world cup squad, doing a column for a delhi-based daily. then, there''s v. bhaskaran, skipper of the 1980 moscow olympics gold medallist team, contributing to a couple of southern papers.also a member of that moscow squad is m.m. sommaya, sending dispatches for a national news agency. lending his first-hand opinion also to readers of a national daily is jagbir singh who gained his share of stardom in the late 80s and the early 90s. and, lastly harinder singh, a former international and the assistant coach with the sydney team, writing for the website of the world hockey body (fih). wonder what they have had to say about the performance of this indian team after three matches. all appeared dazed and downcast after india''s 2-3 loss to malaysia on wednesday.
there is something else, too, which seems quite new to hockey — the orange flavour. it is the concept of fans coming on package tours to the venue of any major event to cheer their team on, a thing one thought was restricted to football and maybe cricket. there is quite a legion of dutch supporters here on a package tour. they have been here from the very first day at the bukit jalil stadium dressed in their national colours or have the same painted on their faces. and, like in utrecht four years ago when the dutch played host to the ninth world cup, this tangerine tribe is having a ball.
for india, the local indian support has been good. they have been turning out in huge numbers, coming from far and wide to see and cheer a ''potential medal winner''. but one gets the impression that their patience and their tolerance level has reached breaking point. for, after the match against malaysia, bottles were allegedly thrown and abuses hurled at the indian coach and players. so much so, that coach cedric d''souza had to be escorted by security personnel to the mandatory post match news conference.
the media turnout at this event has been sensational. with over 300 journalists accredited, besides more than 100 local jurnos covering the mega event, this world cup has set a record for the highest media presence ever. and the facilities are excellent. not just for the media but for the spectators as well. giant screens installed on both pitches ensure that when there is no match on at a particular pitch, one can stay put in that stadium and watch the pitch action live.