The same of Indian Hockey team after its first non-qualification for the Olympic Games has been immense. On Monday, the British cruised to a victory defeating India that earned them a berth in the Beijing Olympic Games.

India's performance on Monday was in stark contrast to the 40s and the 50s, when India were the indisputable world champions. This is where the proud legacy of Indian hockey scaled heights that have remained untouched.

Soon after the India’s independence in 1947, came the chance to unfurl the tricolour on the land which till very recently was under the British rule. London hosted the 1948 Olympics, and the Indian hockey team was the top gun. There had been no Olympics since 1936 but everyone still remembered the dazzling mastery of Dhyan Chand at Berlin. Kishen Lal's team scored 25 goals in all conceding only 2. In the final they played Britain, for the first time ever in the Olympics and thrashed them 4-0.

“Four-years later another hockey team left Indian shores. This time, for Helsinki. Many say the KD Singh Babu led team was the best ever. Three matches later, India's 5th consecutive gold medal was in the bag, Holland getting thrashed 6-1 in the final. Balbir Singh senior scored 9 of India's 13 goals in the tournament. Babu was awarded the Helms trophy for being the best sportsperson in the world,” says Member, 1948 and 1952 Hockey team, G Nandy Singh.

Balbir captained the team 4-years later at Melbourne. His teams record was even more impressive, 35 goals in 5 matches, none against. India beat Pakistan by a solitary goal in the final, capping a magnificent decade.

After this tragic defeat on Monday, the heartbroken Indian hockey fraternity has reacted with anger and demanded the ouster of Indian Hockey Federation President, K P S Gill who has headed the organisation since 1994 with an iron fist. However, Gill remains defiant.

Even after the latest debacle Gill said: "I will respond to these things at a later stage. We have put the process in place and the results will take some time. It is not proper to respond at this stage. We will wait for the team to return first, then we will have a clear idea what went wrong."
The Indian Hockey Federation, already badly split, simply fell apart with its Senior Vice-President Narendra Batra quitting. However, Batra fired a salvo at a boss he has openly detested for years.

Former players too have been calling for Gill's head for a long time now, and the voices simply grew louder after Monday's humiliating defeat.

Hockey player Pargat Singh said that Gill should quit. "It is something which is long overdue."

Another former player, Ashok Kumar added that the Indian Hockey Federation was responsible for the defeat of the team on Monday.

In his time as President, Gill has tried to launch projects such as the ambitious Indian Hockey League — which has met with lukewarm success. However, it seems that this time around, there is no time left for the man to perform any more heroics.

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