Interview: The drag-flick dinosaur, Floris Jan Bovelander

A goal would have been a given had Floris Jan Bovelander been found drag-flicking at a post on a hockey pitch in the present era. If Jay Stacy gave the drag-flick to the game, Bovelander made it his own. And the rest led by Sohail Abbas helped it evolve.

Over 200 goals in 241 international matches for the Netherlands made Bovelander a legend. He was arguably the first to intimidate goalkeepers as he crouched licking his lips, waiting for the ball to be pushed, stopped and then sling it into the back of the goal with his stick.

Not a surprise that the Dutch fans nicknamed him Boem Boem Bovelander – the Bohemian.

Bovelander and Abbas are undoubtedly two of the finest exponents of the drag flick. But Abbas picked up from where Bovelander left, evolved the technique and enjoyed unprecedented success.

The current breeds is privileged to play with specialized flick sticks that have made their way into the market, but Bovelander doesn't mind as long as the game of hockey benefits.

The legend from the 'Oranje' land was recently spotted in Delhi, hanging around the auction venue for the Hockey India league (HIL).

For an Olympic gold medallist and a World Cup winner to be standing almost unrecognized isn't an uncommon sight in India. The popularity of hockey has taken a serious hit, not just in India but globally. These days, Bovelander is trying his bit to revive the game.

Image Credit: Reuters

"I am here for the One Million Hockey Legs. We are setting up a programme, like in Delhi you have 'One Thousand Hockey Legs'. We were inspired by that," Bovelander told IBNLive, before explaining further.

"There was a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Governments of Netherlands and India in sports development. So we are trying to set up a sports development programme in India together with the hockey associations here, hockey fans, trying to set up some school programmes and grass root hockey programmes. That's why we are here," the Dutch legend added.

A sportsman to the core, Bovelander stressed upon the important role sports culture plays in the overall growth and development of future generations.

"I have my own company that organises sports events, mainly in hockey, mainly grass-root training camps, hockey promotion, but also sports promotion in general – because I am a strong believer in the fact that sports is good for every kid. If you play sports, it's not only good for your health, your strength, but also by playing together, having fun together, by accepting rules and dealing with winning and losing, you become a better person."

The 49-year-old was visibly impressed with what he saw at the HIL auction, with reporters busy punching keys on the laptops and team owners fighting over a player in an intense bidding war.

"It's really exciting. I think Hockey India League is great for hockey. As we are doing a programme now for grass-root hockey, it needs players, it needs these heroes that HIL produces. It's really good, good hype here," Bovelander looked around as he spoke.

Players of his era would have never imagined to earn the amount of money HIL has brought into the game and for the players. And it didn't skip Bovelander's eye.

"It's amazing how much money is involved. When the competition started [in 2013[, in the Netherlands we all thought 'they are earning a lot of money'. But at the end of the day it's a good competition. The best players in the world are playing here," he said.

The Hockey India league is trying to shift focus from penalty corners to field goals, by awarding two goals for one field effort. And the man who used to thrive upon penalty corners, partially agrees with the innovative rule.

"It was towards the end of my career that drag-flick technique came along, first I was only good at hitting the ball, it was actually my specialty. I think the penalty corner is still an exciting moment in hockey. I also like the short corner because it's a moment where the spectators have some excitement. It's good for television to have those moments.

"[However] I agree with the new rules of two points for a field goal and only one for the short corner," he reckoned. "Excitement will be bigger in the last 5-10 minutes. If you are 1-0 up, you can still be beaten [by a field goal]. It won't be a draw; you can be beaten in a minute."

But the former Netherlands defender also maintained that strikers still won't miss a chance to earn a penalty corner by hitting a defender's foot. "I don't think so. I think it [creating penalty corners] will be about the same."

Of late, rules and regulations in the game have undergone a change and/or modification quite frequently, at times catching the fans unaware of the reasons behind a particular development. But Bovelander believes it's okay if the game's popularity increases with such moves.

"I like experiments, I like to think about games also. We developed beach hockey [in the Netherlands], we developed many kinds of hockey. I like the way the HIL is thinking about hockey and trying to get hockey more popular in the world and also in India," he opined. “[Though] I agree you should not change the rules every one or two years, definitely not a big change."

I think it's the responsibility of the national associations [to make people aware of the change in rules]; that's what the FIH thinks. The basics of the game are still same; there's a stick, there's a ball, and it should go in the goal, more goals than the other and you win. It's 11 against 11."

Bovelander also touched upon the strained relations between India and Pakistan after the obscene show by Pakistan players during the Champions Trophy last year in Bhubaneswar.

Credit: Getty Images

Hockey India president, Narinder Batra, expressed his displeasure over Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) not showing any regret over the incident and said bilateral relations between the two federations won't improve until that happens.

Bovelander, though, is optimistic because of the arrival of his compatriot Shahbaz Ahmed in Pakistan hockey administration.

"I heard Shahbaz just became the General Secretary of PHF, and he directly invited Dr. Batra for talks. I think it will be good. You should not have politics in hockey," he said.

The Dutchman, though, also believed misbehaviour can't be tolerated.

"You have to behave on and off the pitch. I saw it [Bhubaneswar incident]. It was very bad. They [PHF] should apologise. I am very forgiving. I would say 'don't do it again and let's play on'. I can imagine Dr. Batra wants something, a handshake or whatever.

"It's too bad that Pakistan did not say to Indian hockey federation that it should not have happened. It's only just a handshake. Somebody has to stand up. Hopefully now Shahbaz stands up, because he is a former player. He will definitely shake hands with Dr. Batra and say it won't happen again," the former player added.

"Hockey and sports in general can be very positive for relationships. It can bring people together."