'We need to look at younger, fitter players'

M P Ganesh, currently the CEO of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, is a former hockey Olympian and earlier executive director, Sports Authority of India. He captained India at the Amsterdam World Cup in 1973 where the team finished second and coached the Indian team in the 1980s. R Edwin Sudhir spoke to Ganesh about the lessons of World Cup 2010:
Has the World Cup 2010 in New Delhi revived interest among Indians in the game?
There's definitely some interest generated among the people. This was evident in the inaugural match in which India beat Pakistan. Even later, despite our dismal performance, people still followed the matches keenly. However, this can't last long as we can't expect people to sustain this interest if the national team doesn't play well and win.
What are the lessons from this tournament?
We flattered to deceive with the win against Pakistan. Experts saw in that match itself that our level of physical fitness was not very high, our basic skills were nothing to write home about and we knew we wouldn't do well against superior teams. We were proved right. We should have prepared better for the tournament, instead of having to firefight all kinds of problems. We failed on several fronts selection, training, practice and choice of coach. We need to look at younger, fitter players from the junior ranks.
Experience does matter but not at the cost of fitness. We chose to go to Canada for practice matches that was a wrong choice. What could we have possibly gained from this? Why don't we have an Indian coach who understands our ethos better? By all means have foreign coaches but only for specialised tasks, and give him specific goals with clear timelines and accountability.
What should be done to get young people to play hockey?
There's no dearth of talent at the school and junior level. It's up to the administration to identify good players, train them intensively and give them opportunities to play against better teams. Maybe we should review the sports hostel system, which keeps all these talented players in one place. Why not allow them to be in their respective schools, which may in turn inspire other children around them? Eventually, we'll have a bigger base of good players to pick from.
What can we learn from other countries?
A lot. For instance, a South Korean coach studied at the Sports Authority of India, Patiala, went back to his country and trained several coaches there. Look at Korea's performance now. Why can't we do the same? We should ensure our coaches are accountable for the team's performance. Club hockey throws up talent and gives players a chance to compete against the best teams. We need to encourage this. Why not learn from cricket? After all, it's through the Karnataka Premier League that players like Mithun got a chance to showcase their talent and then got a call for the national camp. It's the system, not the individual, which should run the organisation. We should have transparency in the way associations function and that will mean the public will have confidence in those who manage the organisations.