Detmer was also carrying a magazine with him but it wasn't about hockey. It was about speedskating which is speeding towards being one of the most popular sport in Europe. Six million people in Europe are now seriously training for speedskating. And during competitions, which also has marathon, 45,000 people turn to participate which includes Detmer. "It's my new love," says Detmer. But he also has a formula which he says he has been carrying with him for 20 long years. "It's about the World Club championship," he says. "We need a World Club championship where the top clubs from different countriesparticipate like they do in football."

He says that hockey is not being spread the right way. "The sub-juniors and the juniors need tournaments at the highest level and that is where we are going wrong. I hope respective federations in various countries would start organising sub-junior and junior leagues."

All good thoughts but would they ever be organised? In the hockey village at the World Cup Stadium here, the manufacturers of the turf at the stadium have set up a small turf with two goalposts. It is good enough for four-a-side hockey. Now when I was standing there with a couple of friends, it just struck me that why can't our schools organise those kind of turfs?

Or why can't the respective state associations start looking into problems that are in schools?

For example, Punjab, Delhi or any state association can sit down with the government or sponsors and see that four turfs of a size smaller than even one-fourth of the total pitch are given to schools who still play hockey and are committed.Maybe three could go to schools that have hockey teams and the fourth could be installed where we want hockey to flourish once again.

But all this takes time and a lot of hard work which unfortunately none of the state associations or even the Indian Hockey Federation has time for. Germany are champions because of the work they put into the team.