16-03-2021 The Asian Independent

6 16-03-2021 to 31-03-2021 ASIA
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
1975 World Cup hockey title was best
thing of my life: Captain Ajit Pal
New Delhi : Sixteen days before
Ajit Pal Singh turned 28 in 1975, he
captained India to their maiden - and so
far the only -- World Cup hockey triumph.
On the 46th anniversary of that
momentous title win, achieved after
beating Pakistan 2-1 in a fast-paced
final at Siaran Langsung Dari Stadium,
Merdeka (Kuala Lumpur), 73-year-old
Singh on Monday recalled the final and
the celebrations that ensued.
Singh also vividly remembers the
reception and felicitations that the team
received in various cities on its return to
India. The team played 10 exhibition
matches at various places in the country
and were felicitated wherever they
went.
The MP Ganesh-led India had come
close to winning the World Cup in 1973
as well, but lost to the Netherlands 2-4
on penalties in the final. Singh was a
member of that team as well.
Singh spoke to IANS on the 46th
anniversary of India's historic World
Cup triumph.
Excerpts:
» Q: How do you remember March
15, 1975?
A: On this date the best thing of my life
happened -- history was made. I get
goosebumps recalling that day.
» Q: Do you remember distinctly
what you did that day since the
time you wake up in Kuala
Lumpur?
A: Definitely. Winning a World Cup
comes rarely in one's life. I distinctly
remember the match, the celebrations,
where all we went after the triumph,
how we returned to India etc.
» Q: At what stage during the World
Cup did you realise that the
Indian team was capable of winning
the title?
A: It was after we beat Germany 3-1 in
a Pool B league match. We had beaten
England 2-1 in the first league
game and drew 1-1 with Australia.
And after blanking Ghana 7-0, we
lost to Argentina 1-2. But in the last
group league match, against
Germany, we had to beat them to
qualify for the semi-finals, as
Australia was at six points and had
we lost we would not have qualified
for the semis.
» Q: How tough was the final against
Pakistan?
A: It was a fast-paced match. We were
in the field, playing, so we did not
realise that. However, those who
watched the game from the stands
told us that it was a pacy game. The
Pakistani team always had a strong
forward line, and that team too was
strong. We, however, defended very
well against their forwards.
» Q: How did you spend time between
winning the final and till the time
you went to sleep that day?
A: First, there was a celebration at the
stadium. Then we returned to our
team hotel. The atmosphere was different.
Strictly speaking, there was
no combined team celebration as
such. Players were free to go wherever
they wanted to; they went out
with their friends and things like
that. As you know, there were a lot
of Indians living in Malaysia. Many
of those Indians took the players to
their either homes or clubs as part of
the celebrations. One of my friends
took me to the rooftop of a hotel
where a few people were present.
We opened the champagne there. By
10.30 pm or 11 pm, I returned to my
Bank strike: Cheques worth
Rs 16,500 crore stuck
Chennai : The two-day
nationwide strike called by the
United Forum of Bank Union in
protest against privatisation of
the government banks began on
Monday.
The leader of a major union
claimed total success impacting
the clearance of two crore
cheques/instruments worth about
Rs 16,500 crore.
"On an average, about 2 crore
cheques/instruments worth about
Rs 16,500 crore are held up for
clearance. Government treasury
operations and all normal banking
transactions have been
affected," C.H. Venkatachalam,
General Secretary, All India
Bank Employees' Association
(AIBEA) said.
According to him, about 10
lakh bank employees struck
work signalling their negation of
the government's decision to privatise
its banks.
The Central government has
decided to privatise two public
sector banks in addition to IDBI
Bank, and the United Forum of
Bank Unions (UFBU) had given
the strike call in protest.
"As per reports reaching us
from various states, banking
operations have been affected
and paralysed in all centres,"
Venkatachalam said.
"Most of the Branches could
not be opened. Clearing of
cheques could happen since
branches are not accepting
cheques for clearance as branches
are closed," he said.
He said the strike would continue
on Tuesday to save the
banks from being taken over by
private vested interests.
"The strike to save the savings
of our people. The strike is
to ensure more loans to priority
and weaker sections,"
Venkatachalam added.
He said the banks are making
operational profits and they are
showing net loss owing to provisions
because the corporate borrowers
defaults. He said during
2019-20 the operating profits of
government banks were Rs
1,74,336 crore, provision for
doubtful debts Rs 2,00,352 crore
and the net loss stood at Rs
26,016 crore.
The UFBU, an umbrella body
hotel room. We were too tired after
the final match. The next day again
some people invited us, though I
don't remember the exact details
now.
From Kuala Lumpur to we went to
Singapore, where the Indian community,
particularly the Punjabi
community, organised a reception
for the Indian team. We also went
shopping there. Then we landed in
Chennai, the home city of then
Indian Hockey Federation president
M.A.M. Ramaswamy (1974-1980),
where there were celebrations in
marketplaces and road shows for a
couple of days. From Chennai, we
came to Delhi where receptions
were organised at several places,
including the airport. We also met
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and
other dignitaries, before the players
left for their destinations.
» Q: Did the Indian players get any
monetary reward for winning the
World Cup?
A: Winning a World Cup is not a small
achievement. We played 10 exhibition
matches at various places after
returning from Kuala Lumpur with
the World Cup. They gave some
amount of money to players. They
should have commercialised hockey,
like they did with cricket later.
They didn't move with the changing
times. One example is the introduction
of artificial turf for hockey in
1972. In India they installed the first
artificial turf about 10 years later. In
this interim period, we won the
World Cup. Why didn't they install
it after the 1975 World Cup triumph?
» Q: Indian hockey players still don't get
match fees.
A: I would rather say that, all said and
done, they are getting at least something
now. Until some years ago,
they wouldn't get anything. When
the team would come after winning
something, they would only get
shabashi (a pat on their backs) and
officials would say "Well done, and
now win the next tournament as
well". In my time - in the 1970s and
the 1980s - players would be satisfied
if they would land jobs by playing
well. Also, in the 1970s and the
1980s, hockey was the No.1 sport of
India and cricket was at No.2. But in
the 1980s, cricket went up and up
and hockey's popularity went down.
» Q: Are the members of the 1975 getting
together today to celebrate?
A: No, nothing as such. A few years
ago, I used to invite players at my
place for dinner etc.
Haryana assembly to condemn bodies
calling for boycott of politicians
Chandigarh : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on
Monday brought a motion before the assembly, saying if any section
of the society or organisation announces a boycott of any political
leader, the House would condemn such a decision.
Khattar also proposed that if necessary, voting should be done on
the motion. Later, the motion was passed by a voice vote.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Independent members
supported the motion.
The Chief Minister said for the protection of democracy, both
the ruling and the opposition parties must share a collective responsibility.
The Leader of Opposition, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, clarified
that no Congress Legislator was inciting or urging any organisation
or section of society to boycott political leaders. However,
during the voting, the Congress members staged a walkout.