Sad! Indian juniors beat Pakistan in hockey and we didn't even cheer

When the Indian junior men's hockey team won the Asia Cup on Sunday, I was faced with a whole range of emotions, some of them at odds with each other. While one part of me wanted to celebrate the fine achievement of the young team to the hilt, another was a bit subdued.

It was a triumph at not only a frontline tournament, it was achieved at the cost of our arch-rivals Pakistan. And what a thrashing it was! It jogged your memory back to the Champions Trophy of 2003 when the Indian senior team absolutely annihilated Pakistan 7-4. No doubt, Sunday's victory was one to savour.

However, India, whose power was once unmatched, which had won the Olympic gold eight times, and which had been blessed with players like Dhyan Chand, Ajit Pal Singh, Dhanraj Pillay and Pargat Singh, had let its laurels be frittered away.

India, the hockey superpower, has fallen from its pedestal and is only a pale shadow of what it used to be. I would not subscribe to the argument that India had suddenly stopped producing quality players. Players like Sandeep Singh, Sardara Singh, Prabhjot Singh and Dilip Tirkey have been as good as any in the modern game, but could not take their team to the heights that they should have.

We have had an Asian Games gold here and there, but what has been missing are the big ones - the Olympic and World Cup. In fact, Indian hockey's downfall can be attributed largely to misgovernance by the administrators of the sport in the country. From whimsical team selection, to high-handed treatment of top class coaches, Indian hockey has seen it all.

So if the Asian Games-winning coach Terry Walsh had quit citing "bureaucratic interference", Paul van Ass was removed after he fell out with Hockey India boss Narinder Batra.

Usually at tournaments these days, India is seen fighting simply for the wooden spoon, finishing near the bottom with alarming regularity. It has found itself to be no match for the might of Australia, Netherlands or Germany. Even teams like South Korea, Argentina and New Zealand have found us easy meat. Isn't there, therefore, ample reason to feel subdued, even when you want to be happy at the junior team's performance?

However, the greatest disservice that we can do to the young team is not celebtrating its achievement enough. A victory at any level, at the end of the day, is a victory, and when it is over Pakistan, it has to be sweeter.

Both India and Pakistan may have been left far behind by the Australians and the Europeans, but one thing that both these teams would always have is raw talent, and the Indian junior team's victory confirms that. These youngsters would, in due course of time, graduate to be a part of the senior team, and one can rest assured that the supply line of talent in Indian hockey is good and strong.

Now it is for India to waste. It is not something that Indian hockey can afford though.

There have been some notes of congratulation on Twitter, as these:

Salute to India's win over Pakistan in junior asia Cup hockey: great stuff guys! You make us proud!

— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) November 22, 2015

Heartiest congratulations to our talented youth on winning Junior Asia Cup Hockey tournament. We are proud of your excellent performance.

— ShivrajSingh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) November 23, 2015

Great news for Indian hockey! India beats #Pakistan 6-2 to win Junior Men's Asia Cup hockey tournament. Now go for the Olympic Gold!

— Sudheendra Kulkarni (@SudheenKulkarni) November 23, 2015

However, hockey doesn't figure very prominently, or as prominently as it should, on the radar of the Indian sports fan anymore, and junior hockey even less so. Except perhaps for cricket, no sport at the junior level interests the media, and indeed the fans, in a big way.

People would, at the most, write a few lines on social media sites and move on. I bet nobody would be talking about the Indian junior hockey team's exploits a month from now. This is, however, unfortunate, because any superstructure needs a strong foundation and if Indian hockey is to recover lost ground, the focus has to be on nurturing talent at the grassroot.

The juniors have proved that the raw material is there. Whether we are able to carve a finished product out of it would determine if Indian hockey can even think of getting its glory days back.