I will never forget my missed penalty against Pakistan in 1994 Hockey World Cup final: Bovelander

PUNE: Dutch hockey legend Floris Jan Bovelander can never fall short of finding winning memories to talk about. Be it his brace against Pakistan that won his team the 1990 World Cup final in Lahore or two penalty corners to beat Spain in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics final, he has enough to tell his grandchildren. Yet, the Dutch hockey legend picks his rare miss as one of the unforgettable moments of his playing career.
“If I look back, I feel I would remember the penalty stroke that I missed against Pakistan in the 1994 World Cup final in Sydney.We lost that match and the missed strike taught me a lot of things. It taught me never to take your opponent lightly, as we did since we had defeated them four years ago. The miss also prepared me mentally for the 1996 Olympics. I feel I could score in the final because I was not taking my opponents (Spain) lightly then,” Bovelander, 58, told TOI on Thursday.
The Dutch hero was in the city to announce his association with Rotary Pune Sports City’s expansion programme. The Netherlands penalty-corner specialist has been spending time in India and is helping various academies and organisations develop programmes for grassroots hockey, something he feels can help Indian hockey in the long run.
He feels Indian hockey has revived again, unlike their former rivals Pakistan, and he gives credit to the Hockey India League for the turnaround.
“I think India faced a big problem after the 80s and 90s when the game changed, and they did not adapt quickly. Fortunately, they came back and I think the change started when the Hockey India League started. Because of the league, there were more coaching courses and there was a good high performance programme as well for the national teams. And then when the results came, there was more interest. So, winning the bronze medal in Tokyo
and having the women’s team 4th at the Olympics has been a big boost.”
The former Dutch player however, doesn’t have similar things to say about Pakistan.
“The decline of Pakistan hockey has hurt the sport at the world level. India is lucky to be back but for Pakistan, it’s a decline in everything and definitely sports. If the economics are good, it’s easier for sports as well. But for me, it’s important that the traditional (hockey playing) nations like India and Pakistan are at the top, at least participating,” he said.
Having followed Indian hockey, Bovelander agrees that the men’s team is relying on their top goalkeeper PR Sreejesh a lot. However, he feels it is difficult to find a substitute for the best.
“With goalies, it is always because you have only one to play. It’s difficult to take the best out, it is exhausting. I think India is doing good over the last few years. Hopefully, they will do good at the Olympics. They rely on him, but that’s what it is. You always rely on a couple of players, and he will be replaced one day,” he said.
Hockey has gone through a lot of rule changes over the past, but the same can’t be said for football.
“I think it (football) is a boring game. Not much has changed in the sport, and I feel some rules need to be changed. But the fact is, billions of people watch football despite that. How many watch hockey? Yes, changes must be made but do they really need to make the changes?”