India fails to qualify for the Olympics

Eight-time gold medallist India missed out on the Olympic Games men’s hockey event for the first time when it lost 2-0 to Britain in the final of a qualifying tournament here on Sunday.

Britain, gold medallist in 1988, scored two early goals to seal India’s fate and win the six-team competition which also featured the host, Austria, Russia and Mexico.

Ashley Jackson set up the first for Barry Middleton in the fourth minute and Richard Mantell flicked in the second in the 10th.

Forward Prabhjot Singh had two efforts blocked in quick succession as India, which won its last gold in 1980, tried to claw its way back and V.R. Raghunath then fired over from a rebound.

India, also beaten 3-2 by the same opponent in the round-robin stage, was unable to find a way through in the second half despite winning a flurry of penalty corners.

“We have been waiting for this for eight months,” said Britain captain Ben Hawes.

China, Netherlands, South Korea, Canada, South Africa, Spain, Belgium, Pakistan and Australia qualified directly for the Beijing Games.

India missed out on an automatic berth after it failed to reach the 2006 Asian Games final.

New Zealand beat Argentina in the final of the first qualifying tournament last month. The third is in Japan in April.

Meanwhile, Joaquim Carvalho resigned as coach of the Indian team.

DOWN AND OUT: India’s goalkeeper Baljit Singh tries to thwart Great Britain’s Rob Moore. India lost 2-0.

“When I took over 11 months ago, I had said I would resign if I could not deliver results,” Carvalho told the Indian media in Santiago.

“So now I am keeping my word. I am as disappointed and hurt as any other Indian hockey fan,” Carvalho said.

IHF vice-president Narendra Batra also resigned, hoping to put pressure on the entire IHF administration, led by K.P.S. Gill, to step down.

“I am ashamed because all of us have failed,” said Batra. “This is the lowest point in Indian hockey and we in the federation must take the blame.”

There was, however, no reaction from Gill.

Batra was unsure if any attempt would be made to overhaul the sport’s administration.

“Is anyone really concerned?” he asked. “The sports ministry has already demoted hockey as a priority sport although it remains our national sport. Gill and the others will lie low for a few days and the debacle will be forgotten soon. We will be back to square one.”