Lives in Cricket No 12 - Ric Charlesworth

Charlesworth took up the position as technical director of Indian hockey because he agreed with the FIH that the success of Indian teams was crucial to the future of the game. 32 The Indian press quoted his enthusiasm for the task ahead of his arrival: India have failed to perform for so long that the game which I have always loved is lesser, because we are missing the artistry and aesthetics that stamped the first part of the twentieth century. Hockey needs India to be doing well to survive and thrive worldwide. I believe India have the raw material in skilled, clever and talented people to be outstanding again as a hockey nation. To play a part in the hockey renaissance is a great challenge and I am privileged to have this opportunity. 33 But the press also foresaw problems. ‘Charlesworth’s road in Indian hockey is going to be full of potholes,’ wrote one on-line commentator. There would be ‘inertia’ from current coaches and former players. He had only ‘worked in a system where everything has been methodical and systematic’ and he had ‘a reputation for being forthright with his views and this may not go down well with the IHF.’ 34 His job was to support and promote Indian hockey at all levels, not be coach of the national team, a position that had been filled in March 2007 when Joaquim Carvalho replaced Vasudevan Baskaran. But it was a sign of the general disarray at the elite level that this was the fourth time Baskaran had been sacked from the position. 35 ‘The challenge was a significant one,’ Ric told ABC radio’s Monica Attard in the aftermath of his resignation on 24 June 2008. ‘India’s got a great tradition in our sport. In fact they dominated it for nearly half a century but they’ve fallen on difficult times.’ His job was funded by the FIH and the International Olympic Committee [IOC] as well as the Indian Hockey Federation [IHF]. ‘It was really about looking at what was going on and … making good recommendations and hopefully putting those into effect’. He spent ‘eight or nine months doing 2002-2009 83 32 The following account of Charlesworth’s period in India draws on his 30 April 2009 interview with the author, his ABC interview with Monica Attard, 30 October 2008, www.abc.net.au/sundayprofile ; and a series of articles by Indian journalists and bloggers published on the internet and noted at specific points below. 33 ‘Hockey needs India to thrive: Charlesworth’, 23 October 2007: www.expressindia.com 34 ‘Ric Charlesworth: Indian Hockey’s Messiah’, 19 November 2007, www.sportsnob.net 35 Anand Philar, ‘The curious case of Ric Charlesworth’, 13 March 2008, Sify Indian News , www.sify.com