Michael Kindo :: That Navy Man , Such A Solid Defender – Indian Hockey “ MIRTH ” In Controversy and in “ DRAIN ”




Pic :: The Three Musketeers Of Indian Hockey Of The Seventies, Ashok , Michael Kindo and Phillips

Michael Kindo :: That Navy Man , Such A Solid Defender – Indian Hockey “ MIRTH ” In Controversy and in “ DRAIN ”

It was December 31st 2020.The entire WORLD was looking forward for the New Year to usher by, however there was ONE family which did not CELEBRATE the New Year the wat it would have liked to, and NEVER would it at any time henceforth would like to celebrate .Which could be that family , one might ask and the answer would be the family of Micheal Kindo. For this such a STURDY and the TIGHT defender who played such a NEAT hockey all through his career passed away on December 31st and with that a LIGHT OF INDIAN HOCKEY WAS TO GO FOR EVER.

Born in the Rourkela area of Orissa then Michael took the game at a young age and soon made a mark under the coaching of Major Dhyanchand who coached the Orissa team to it’s FIRST ever semis in 1968. Both the brothers then, Major Dhyanchand was coaching the Orissa state team and his younger brother Roop Singh in 1968 was coaching the All India School team. Upon the recommendation of Major Dhyanchand, Michael was summoned to Captain Roop Singh in 1968 and he was selected for the National School Hockey team for India for it’s campaign against the visiting, first, the West Germany School Hockey team and then against the visiting Great Britain Hockey team immediately thereafter.

Sundergarh area of Orissa , ..... well that is a place which I would say that it bloomed into a Hockey producing garden after 1965 when for the first time Major Dhyanchand stepped into that that and put his foot there for the first time when he started coaching and that area of Orissa ever since then gave India many a Hockey players to India. They talk and talk a lot about Sansarpur which produced so many hockey players who had represented India in the Hockey in the international matches , but nobody talks about Sundergarh area and Michael Kindo was the ONE amongst them,  and, perhaps ,  the FIRST one  to come out and play hockey for India from that area. 

Both the series against the visiting team saw Michael Kindo representing India under the stewardship of Aslam Sher Khan. The India team convincingly beat the visiting team by 2-0 and by 3-0 and Michael Kindo earned a very strong and a good name for him to be recommended by Captain Roop Singh for the I.H.F Blues in the invitational Hockey tournament which was held in 1969 at Bombay, then.

In that tournament Michael gave such  a resounding note of himself that the Indian Navy immediately spotted him and inducted him as their Junior Jettison Officer , a post which he held it till he retired as a Senior Jettison Officer from the Indian navy ; finally settling at Orissa at Rourkela.

Here in the picture above, I'm placing the scene of the National Hockey championship of the THREE Indian Hockey musketeers of the 1978 where Ashok Kumar leading the Indian Airlines, Michael Kindo playing his last National Hockey championship  and leading the Services, and Victor Joseph Phillips leading the Indian Railwars are posed during the inauguration ceremony of the championship , earing the jersey of their respective teams. . 

His First Campaign ::

His first campaign was in the Senior Nationals in 1970. Nobody can ever forget that match where the Services played  the MIGHTY Punjab holding them for a 0-0, 0-0 and 1-1 draw for three consecutive day

On the third day the Services were down  by 0-1 till in the last minute Michael Kindo brought that parity when he converted a penalty corner for his side. Punjab had Ajitpal Singh, Harmik Singh, Kulwant Singh, Vinod Kumar,  Charles Cornelius ,all playing for India in the International hockey then. Services had  Colonel Balbir Singh , M.P.Ganesh , Harjinder Singh Chimni, Harcharran Singh, as the DREADED QUATRET of the forwards in those days. In the annal of Indian Hockey the Punjab-Services National Hockey tournament that was played then is CONSIDERED to the BEST ever match that was played by both the team. The reason why this game went to the extent of three days to be decided was the fact that Michael Kindo completely took over the defence and he kept the entire attacking line of Punjab and all the moves that were initiated by the Punjabi’s were NIPPED in the BUD by this man. Such was his resoluteness and strurdiness and such was the material he was made of. Actually it was his rasping drive of a penalty corner that gaian had brought the Services back into the game. Punjab won that game that year but they scored only when Michael Kindo was taken away from the match on a stretched when his nose was nadly bleeding when he stopped a penalty corner  push taken by his counterpart. Such was his performance that he found a place in the probable of the players for the Asian Games at Bangkok and when the Indian team flew at Bangkok Michael Kindo was the part of that team. That is how he came into the Indian team. However at the last moment he had to give his place in the team to his Services team mate Uttaiah has his nose and the treatment he was taking could not heal at the correct moment.


Pic :: The Michael Kindo Trophy Cabinet
 

His next campaign was the National Hockey championship at Bangalore and that ws the year which again saw the repeat of the national Hockey championship where Michael Kindo single handedly stopped every moment and evey moves of his opponent lest a drive of a penalty corner by Vinod Kumar gave Punjab the championship and Michael Kindo the post of VICE-CAPTAIN of Indian Hockey yeam that was to participate in the 1971 World Cup,. Ajitpal Singh ws the Captain of that team.

In that World Cup Michael Kindo produced such a kind of a performance that when the ALL-BEST-WORLD-HOCKEY team was selected after the World Cup, he found a place in that team from India along with Ashok Kumar, Ajitpal Singh .The other two defender selected in that team were tanvir dar of Pakistan and Ties Kruize of Holland. That was Michael Kindo and his game. He gave a sterling, stolid and a sturdy performance in the defence. Though India lost in that World Cup to Pakistan to finish third in that tourney, it was the TWO-UNDERCUTTING-FOUL penalty which helped Pakistan to win that honour against India. None of the Pakistani that day could beat Michael Kindo in the position from where he was defending the Indian goal.

Michael Kino was a part of the Indian team for the 1972 Olympics at Munich where he won a Bronze for India, for the 1973 World Cup at Amsterdam where he won that SILVER for India, for the 1974 Asian Games at Tehran where again he won that SILVER for India and came his FINEST of the FINEST hour of his life when India won the WORLD CUP HOCKEY title against Pakistan at Kuala Lumpur . His last engagement was in the 1976 Olympics at Montreal where India finished seventh and returning back home he gave away playing Hockey .

 HE WAS THE FIRST ADIVASI HOCKEY PLAYER IN THE ANNALS OF INDIAN HOCKEY WHO WON THE PRESTIGIOUS ARJUNA AWARD IN 1972.

Completely CAUTION personified, absolutely confident of playing a neat and a class hockey and completely a tackler of a world class quality Kindo played the game in a very neat abd an efficient manner and he always earned the praise from his counterparts for his disciplined and a high class neat game. His MAJOR fote was his brilliant anticipation and tackles which were of the very highest and a neat order .

Class was his name when he would play the game in that manner and in a way which would be very neat and clean.

REST IN PEACE MICHAEL ……..

Having finished with Michael, let me boil down to the CONTROVERSIES of Indian Hockey that MIRTHED the game whenever India was to participate in any international tournament . Never has been the Indian Hockey short of all the high voltage drama that would creep up whenever the team would be selected to play for India. I have made a concrete study of the same and I hereby lay down them for the benefit of the Indian readers.

Today the MOOD and the MIND is NOT well. After listening the DEATH-NEWS of Michael Kindo , I really DID NOT WANT to write anything about Indian Hockey lest my WORRIES INVITED FOR EVER  , ( WIFE )  ordered me to indulge in writing so that the mind does not gets spoilt and dirty at all and is at the appropriate place .

It ordere me that writing would keep all your brain at work and that the busy brain is the best drain to drain out all the mood which is bad .Hence I’m writing this article in a very short manner for the readers to read it.

From tomorrow the lengthy write-ups of Indian Hockey and it’s debacles will be covered in the manner that it ought to be.

Here are the short write ups on Indian Hockey and it’s real situation about the worst that it was faced to slip down and the Indian Hockey going to the drain.

Indian Hockey Team :: The “ FIRST” Non- European Team To participate In Olympics

The Indian hockey team was the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation. In 1928, the team having earned the right to play it’s first Olympic at Amsterdam,  won its first Olympic gold medal and until 1960, the Indian men’s team remained unbeaten in the Olympics, winning six gold medals in a row. The team had a 30–0 winning streak during this time, from their first game until losing in the 1960 gold medal final.

India also won the 1975 World Cup. India’s hockey team is the most successful team ever in the Olympics, However, despite all the successes, the team has always been caught in the quagmires of controversies, since the beginning of their journeys. Here we look at the controversies that rocked the Indian hockey teams from their first Olympic appearance in 1928, to their last in 2016.

Captain walks out in maiden Olympics – 1928

 India was asked and was given the right to participate in the 1928 Olympics.This had happened and this was due to the fact that a visiting Great Britain and a visiting Dutvch team was beaten hollw and square by an selected Indian team here at India. The barefooted and the stick work of the Indian team was such that the news reached the International Olympic Association and India were invited for the tourney.

India’s Olympic debut was marred by controversy over the captaincy. Jaipal Singh, who was studying in Oxford, was selected along with two other England-based Indians, Yusuf Khan and the Nawab of Pataudi (Sr), who played only in the warm-up games but not the Olympics. Jaipal was named captain much to the dismay of the Anglo-Indian players in the squad. The simmering discontent saw a disgusted Jaipal walk out of the team after it reached the quarter-finals and Eric Pinninger took over the leadership. However for the finals, Jaipal Singh was asked to come back and a position was created for him to play for India in the finals which he did. India beat Holland/Netherland by 3-0, all the goals  scored by Dhyanchand to win their FIRST ever Olympic Gold.

This was the start and from this, the saga and the story of the quagmire controversies of the Indian Hockey team kept repeating and it continues even now after so many a years. It does not appears to stop anywhere.

Goalkeeper refuses to don turban – 1932

At the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, India’s second goalkeeper Arthur Hind refused to don the turban just before the march-past during the opening ceremony – he was asked to return home but was later a pardoned when he submitted a written apology to the Olympic Committee and had requested them to pardon him. The persuaaion the Indian Chef-De-Mission was upheld and the matter came to a close . The Goalkeeper was allowed to play and assist the Indian team

 Best player dropped from squad – 1948

 There is some kind of a story about the droppoing of Balbir Singh Senior from the Indian team in the 1948 Olympics.

One side of the story says that balbir was seriously hurt by an Argentine player when India minced them by 8-1 in the FIRST ever Hockey match after gaining the Independence. Balbir Singh scored six goals in India’s 8-1 rout of Argentina at the 1948 London Olympics but was axed for the next two games against Spain and the Netherlands. It was said that the team management wanted to rest him for two games that India were to play against Spain and Holland for some reason .  There was a clamour for Balbir’s return to the side and he vindicated the move scoring a brace, in India’s superb 4-0 final triumph over hosts Great Britain.

Strife over team selection – 1952 

The team selection ahead of the 1952 Games was marred by such controversy that India looked destined to return home from Finland empty handed. There was a near-riotous situation concerning the inclusion and omission of players to an extent that the critics wrote off the team, led by Kunwar Digvijay Singh ‘Babu’, as a bunch of no-hopers despite India having won four gold medals at consecutive Olympics. However when K.D.Singh Babu took over he completely cut of all his intentions to score goals and he made the others to score from the series of passes after passes and centres after the centres that he send from the top of the striking circle to his other team mates to score and they scored at will.


https://youtu.be/mylw1i9KEJ8

U-Tube Clipping Of India’s 6-1 victoy against Holland :: Olympics 1952

That act made the others to hit the headlines in the newspapers and that made them happy. best and lest,  the team ended winning the Gold medal by trouncing Holland by 6-1 in the finals. Here in the U-Tube one can see K.D.Singh Babu standing on the podium to receive  the GOLD for India.

Indian domination ends with triumphant Pakistan – 1960

Having dominated the world since 1928, the Indian hockey team fell short of another Olympic gold, losing to arch-rivals Pakistan in the final at the Rome Games. The team selected was not upto the liking of Leslie Claudius. He believed that there were far better players than the one who were selected and that they would not be able to perform to the expectations.

Some of them who were selected specially from Punjab according to many were not even of the club standard and there were far better players in the Customs and in the Srvices team which could have made a lot of difference to the fortune of the team. The Coach selection was also not liked and approved by many but then they at last decided to fall to the situation.

India gave a poor display, better to call it unimpressive, in the entire tournament but was lucky to make it to the finals , where the very fast moving Pakistani team playing a nippy moving game outwitted India in the finals.

Two much to tango – 1968

India entered the 1968 Olympics with the team in a state of disarray. Gurbux Singh had captained India in most of the tournaments between 1966 and 1968 , after Shankar Laxman had retired from the Indian squad, announcing that Hockey was no more his passion any more and that he would never again play for India. . Yet, the federation named Prithipal Singh as the skipper. That came as a big shock to Gurbux, who made his disappointment public, and the federation finally named them both as captains. For the first time in Olympics history, an Olympic Hockey team had TWO Captain leading the side, and for the FIRST time India FAILED to make it to the finals   India had failed to make the final.

Rebellion leads to rues – 1976 

This was ther same Gurbax Singh who was the Manager of the Indian team which had NOT made it to the finals of the Mexico Olympics when he was a JOINT CAPTAIN of the side and the team of that 1968 Olympics.

Barely a year after winning the World Cup in the hot and steamy Kuala Lumpur, Indian hockey slid to its nadir amidst considerable controversy and acrimony among players as the high profile team finished a shocking seventh.

 The unheralded New Zealand won the gold on the spanking new synthetic pitch that made its international debut. With few players having even seen an artificial surface much less played on it, the Indian team, under World Cup captain Ajit Pal Singh, playing in his third Olympics, set off for Canada via Europe where they played a few warm-up games. It was a journey that was marred by in-fighting regarding the division of money accrued through sale of hockey sticks. On the way playing against some European teams, mostly lower rated one like Poland, Belgium to name a few, B.P.Govinda midway broke his collar-bone and trhe Cente Forward position even after B.P.Govinda came back to the team after recovery, went to Ajit Singh who was not at all fitted to play in that position as it was evident from his display.

That really gave India a PUNCH on it’s face when India was found wanting to deliver from the position of the Centre Forward. Over it in the play off match to decide the second place in the group , in the tie-breaker, Ajit Singh missed a penalty stroke, which sealed the fate of India.  Indiscipline that bordered on open rebellion affected India’s performance that can be best described as up and down on a surface the players were unfamiliar with.

An easy road for India – 1980

India fielded a relatively young but talented side for the Moscow Games where barring skipper Vasudevan Baskaran and goalkeeper Bir Bahadur Chhetri, the rest made their debut. The Games, though, were marred by a US-led boycott over the Russian presence in Afghanistan. As such, men’s hockey had just six teams with the medalist's of the previous Games – New Zealand, Australia and Pakistan, besides European powerhouses West Germany and Holland – remaining absent. Thus, a gold medal for India was a foregone conclusion.



Pic :: Olympic 1980 - The Last Of  "-Podium-Top - And -  First -Victory " scene Of Indian Hockey 

Not that India won it easily. It was a round robin. India somehow managed to escape defeat against Poland by playing a 2-2 draw. Then it was held by Spain to a 2-2 draw with Mohammed Shahid somehow managing to help India level that match after he had scored a WORLD-CLASS BEAUTY of a goal , in a run where he beat as many as seven Spaniards to restore the parity.

In the finals leading 2-0 at the breather Spain bombarded with Juam Amat scoring a HATTRICK to put India completely out of te gear  to come back to the levelling terms. It was again Mohammed Shahid who and whose  magical stickwork and his run to score a goal put India ahead .However two successive penalty corner saved by Vasudevan Bhaskaran in the last one minute saved the day for India to win her EIGHT Gold in the field Hockey.

That was the LAST of the Podium First Victory Standing of Indian Hockey and from there Indian Hockey NEVER has risen to remain over there even for a single tournament that has been played in the World Of Hockey so far. 

New strategy falls flat – 1984 :: Total Hockey Totally Failed  India

Reckoned to be one of the best teams ever in the post-Independence era, the Indian squad for the 1984 Olympics glowed with talent and promise to an extent that nothing less than a medal was expected of it. The side, led by left-winger Zafar Iqbal, nearly lived up to the expectations, but missed the semi-final berth by a whisker, and with it a medal. The uniqueness of the team lay not so much in the players or the collective talent as in the concept of ‘ total hockey ’ that coach Balkrishen Singh introduced. The controversy erupted following the adoption of a new strategy that called for a four-man midfield instead of the traditional three half-backs was heavily criticised by the traditionalists who preferred the ‘ Inverted Pyramid ’ pattern that was synonymous with Asian hockey.

Row over captaincy between veterans and newcomers – 1988

In the 1985 Asia Cup final, half a dozen players were banned for allegedly manhandling the umpire while disputing a goal against them. So much so that at the 1986 World Cup in England, India touched rock bottom by finishing 12th and last as they struggled to find suitable replacements for the banned players despite the emergence of Pargat Singh as one of the world’s best full-backs and of master dribbler Mohammed Shahid who enjoyed an iconic status. By time Seoul Olympics came around, Indian hockey had barely recovered from the body blows it had received in 1985. Coach M.P. Ganesh had a tough time in picking the 16 as he had to weigh sentiments against form. Eventually, under pressure, he included veterans Shahid, M.M.Somaya and Mervyn Fernandis in the squad though their utility was open to question. There was also an issue over captaincy that went to M.M.Somayya ahead of the Mohammed Shahid and that PEACEFULLY and INTERNALLY hit the Indian team and much against the tradition of the senior-most player being  sidelined and a junior player was made the skipper.

Barely managing to qualify – 1992

The Indian team was in such a disarray that it was forced to qualify for the Barcelona Games and almost did not make the grade. A dejected coach Balkrishen, reduced to tears, was ready to resign. Finally, it was Malaysia’s largesse that eventually helped India qualify and the echoes of the late-night, behind-the-scenes moves were to be heard five years hence when the two teams played out a goalless draw which was a pre-determined result. Having qualified for Barcelona by the skin of their teeth, it was thought that the team would bounce back and be a serious medal contender. However, the Olympics campaign turned out to be a disaster with indiscipline in the ranks. Balkrishan, a kind soul that he was, could not control the erring players who indulged in late-night ventures.

Match-fixing mars India’s reputation – 1996

Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), got involved in a match-fixing controversy that split the team ahead of the 1996 Atlanta OlympicsEn route, India and Malaysia deliberately played a goalless draw that knocked out Canada while Malaysia qualified. Some of the seniors in the Indian team were very much in the know while the coach and a majority of other players learnt of the diabolical plan too late in the game. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) investigated, but could not substantiate the match fixing charges though for those who witnessed the match, it was quite obvious.

Coaching shuffle continues- 1996

After the poor finish at the 1996 Atlanta Games, there was another shuffle in the coaching department with Vasudevan Baskaran coming in for Cedric D’Souza who had been in the post earlier. There was so much secrecy about team selection that few could fathom the motives of the Indian Hockey Federation that selected the team after two rounds of trials held in Australia. The only major change though was the ejection of triple Olympian and skipper Pargat Singh Powar, notwithstanding a few surprise inclusions.

Surprise selection of foreign coach – 2004

2004 Olympics riddled with factional fights and controversy over the appointment of German Gerhard Rach as the coach, superceding Rajinder Singh, just before the Athens Games. Rach, hitherto unknown in hockey circles and with a police record, was the Indian Hockey Federation’s surprise choice as was the selection of veteran Dhanraj Pillay, who was originally not included in the list of probables.

Scandal and failure to qualify – 2008

Between national men team’s failure to qualify for Olympics for the first time in 80 years to the infamous cash-for-selection scandal, the year gone by witnessed Indian hockey’s transition from bad to worse. India’s failure in the international circuit, controversies and administrative goof-ups dominated the year 2008 which has very little to show except a few stellar performances by the junior men. However, the incident which shattered every Indian’s heart was the eight-time Olympic champions’ failure to qualify for Beijing Games after losing to Britain in the final of a qualifying event in Santiago, Chile.

Indians complaints over inappropriate kits – 2016

Dispelling the notion that the Indian Hockey team refused to attend the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics as a sign of protest against inappropriate and shabby kits, Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel asserted that the team avoided the ceremony as they had a match the next day and wanted to rest. Goel stated that the matter was definitely not a controversy but simply a small issue. Talking about the controversy where contingents have reported of inadequate facilities and furniture at the Olympic Village, Goel added that the Indian embassy in Brazil has been handed a hefty budget to ensure that the Indian team is well taken care of.

Well , that is it and That sums it all.

Regards and Thanks

Pics



Shyamal Bhattacharjee 

Mr Shyamal Bhattacharjee, the author was born at West Chirimiri Colliery at District Surguja, Chattisgarh on July 6th 1959 He received his early education at Carmel Convent School Bishrampur and later at Christ Church Boys' Higher Secondary School at Jabalpur. He later joined Hislop College at Nagpur and completed his graduation in Science and he also added a degree in    B A thereafter. He joined the HITAVADA, a leading dailies of Central India at Nagpur as a      Sub-Editor ( Sports ) but gave up to complete his MBA in 1984 He thereafter added a Diploma In Export Management. He has authored THREE books namely Notable Quotes and Noble Thought published by Pustak Mahal in 2001 Indian Cricket : Faces That Changed It  published by Manas Publications in 2009 and Essential Of Office Management published by NBCA, Kolkatta  in 2012. He has a experience of about 35 years in Marketing .






Signature Of Shyamal Bhattacharjee 

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