India, June 17 -- In any sport, there is always a swashbuckler, and there is a dark horse at the same time. If there was a dazzling, long-haired genius in the sport of tennis, John McEnroe, known for his spellbinding serve and volley play, there was a dour Bjorn Borg. A few years down the line, if there was the 'boy wonder', Boris Becker, known for his blinding aces and acrobatic volleys, there was the consistent baseliner, Andre Agassi.

The annals of hockey, our national game, are replete with similar examples. Who can forget Ajit Pal Singh, the workman-like half-back of the 1975 World Cup-winning team, and the duo of Ashok Kumar and VJ Philips, the mercurial forwards and goal-scorers for India? Fast forward to the 1980s, and the dazzli...