KOLKATA: On Sunday evening once India lost to Pakistan in cricket, many of those smitten by the social media bug seemed to collectively flaunt India's 7:1 victory in hockey over Pakistan. The hysteria was partially triggered to hide the shame of having lost by 180 runs to arch-rivals at the ICC Champions trophy. But those associated with the game in Kolkata insist that this euphoria won't translate into a sustained interest for the sport.

For the records, Shak Rukh Khan 's 'Chak De! India' too had created a short-lived interest in hockey. The film might have become a hit but it didn't help much to enlighten those who till Sunday didn't even know that hockey and not cricket is India's national game. Ex hockey player Gopinath Ghosh , who is also an official of the Bengal Hockey Association , pointed out that since 1928 till 1956 when India was at the top of the game in hockey, hockey players have never enjoyed the adulation that our cricketers have. "Media has played an important role to turn cricket into a religion in this country. Today, hockey matches aren't even covered the way Mohun Bagan and East Bengal matches are," Ghosh said.

Incidentally, Beighton Cup - the oldest hockey tournament of the world that is organised by the Bengal Hockey Association - is played in Kolkata. "Unfortunately, we don't even have a stadium with a proper AstroTurf to host the game. That's why no international matches are hosted in Kolkata," Ghosh said.

Former hockey player Shanti Mullick , who is also an Arjuna awardee in football, recalled a time when Bengal used to excel in hockey. "But that was in the past. Today, our players practice only on grass grounds while AstroTurf has been made compulsory elsewhere. How do we then expect them to shine at the national level?" she asked, rueing that nobody in Kolkata takes hockey as seriously as they should. "Clubs get grants from the government. But where is the infrastructure? Though I believe hockey will reclaim its past glory in Bengal, I don't see it happening anytime soon," Mullick said.

Hockey player Bunty Singh, who is the former secretary of Khalsa English High School , was the person behind laying the AstroTurf in the school complex in 2011. "Baljit Saini, an Olympian from Bengal, was a student of our academy. Kolkata has three proper hockey academies. But we are the only one that has an AstroTurf where a five a side game can be played. Even if children are keen, they don't get the infrastructure needed to practice," Singh said, admitting that even after India's thumping win on Sunday, he didn't get any enquires from a parent wanting to enrol his child in hockey coaching.

Dr Md Khalid Hussain , who coaches 30 students of La Martiniere for Boys and 80 students of St James' School, said Kolkata is the only city to host a regular hockey league where at least 65 hockey teams play more than 450 matches. "But all of these matches are played on grass grounds. Effectively, our boys are not getting trained in playing on the AstroTurf. Sunday's big win won't change the situation of hockey in Kolkata unless we get sponsors for the game and proper infrastructure," Hussain said.

If Ghosh is to be believed, those parents, who have been sending their wards to cricket coaching camps mushrooming in the city, will not make a detour to the hockey grounds now. "With due respect to Sachin Tendulkar , if the government can award the Bharat Ratna to him before it did to Dhyan Chand , why blame the parents for sending kids to cricket coaching camps?" he wondered.

