Indian
August 3rd, 2002, 11:37 PM
NEW DELHI: Rising from the nether land of ignominy, Indian women’s hockey embraces a new dawn. Elusive since the 1982 Asiad, the shine of gold once again sparkles to blot out the long exile. There were no commando-level training camps for them. No hype, no photo sessions and no flurry of best wishes — the Indian women’s hockey team had left quietly for their Mission Gold.
But the return should more than make up for the earlier apathy. The ladies once again bask in the spotlight, pushing the men’s team into the shadows. For, this moment of glory is theirs.
“There is nothing like the touch of gold,” veteran player Pritam Rani Siwach had said before leaving for the Games. “And we women are quite fond of it,” she had added with a mischievous wink. This faith was confined to the team alone. After their morale sapping loss to the US in the World Cup qualifying play-offs even their most ardent supporters had begun to doubt their verve.
Adding to the woes, they lost two of their league matches at the Games, further eroding their support base. To the extent that a section of the electronic and print media even reported that they were out of contention without bothering to ascertain the facts.
But then suddenly like a twist in a boring tale, our girls thrashed South Africa in the play-off for the semis and then clipped the Kiwis to barge into the final. Only the English lay between the glory of gold and just another good effort. They enjoyed the advantage of playing in their own backyard not to mention the vociferous crowds in the stands.
Suddenly the Indian fans too were back. From the downer of seeing their men’s team unable to participate they had the unexpected bonanza of the women scripting a novel odyssey. For the final showdown, the stadium was packed, boisterous and the tri-colour fluttered defiant.
Back home fans were glued to TV including the men’s team at their training camp at Bangalore. An overjoyed Dhanraj Pillay told Times News Network over phone: “We had kept our evening free to watch the match. I wish we were there to cheer and congratulate them personally. This moment of glory promises to herald a new era in women’s hockey.”
Their display left KPS Gill, president of the Indian Hockey Federation, quite impressed. “Our girls played extraordinary hockey. Their motivation and spirit was quite apparent. My congratulations to them.”
Mamta Kharab’s golden effort was followed by a period of tension with the umpire refusing the goal. But moments later the technical bench ended the uncertainty and along with buried years of aspirations belied and hopes thwarted. Indian women’s hockey has arrived.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?artid=17915670
But the return should more than make up for the earlier apathy. The ladies once again bask in the spotlight, pushing the men’s team into the shadows. For, this moment of glory is theirs.
“There is nothing like the touch of gold,” veteran player Pritam Rani Siwach had said before leaving for the Games. “And we women are quite fond of it,” she had added with a mischievous wink. This faith was confined to the team alone. After their morale sapping loss to the US in the World Cup qualifying play-offs even their most ardent supporters had begun to doubt their verve.
Adding to the woes, they lost two of their league matches at the Games, further eroding their support base. To the extent that a section of the electronic and print media even reported that they were out of contention without bothering to ascertain the facts.
But then suddenly like a twist in a boring tale, our girls thrashed South Africa in the play-off for the semis and then clipped the Kiwis to barge into the final. Only the English lay between the glory of gold and just another good effort. They enjoyed the advantage of playing in their own backyard not to mention the vociferous crowds in the stands.
Suddenly the Indian fans too were back. From the downer of seeing their men’s team unable to participate they had the unexpected bonanza of the women scripting a novel odyssey. For the final showdown, the stadium was packed, boisterous and the tri-colour fluttered defiant.
Back home fans were glued to TV including the men’s team at their training camp at Bangalore. An overjoyed Dhanraj Pillay told Times News Network over phone: “We had kept our evening free to watch the match. I wish we were there to cheer and congratulate them personally. This moment of glory promises to herald a new era in women’s hockey.”
Their display left KPS Gill, president of the Indian Hockey Federation, quite impressed. “Our girls played extraordinary hockey. Their motivation and spirit was quite apparent. My congratulations to them.”
Mamta Kharab’s golden effort was followed by a period of tension with the umpire refusing the goal. But moments later the technical bench ended the uncertainty and along with buried years of aspirations belied and hopes thwarted. Indian women’s hockey has arrived.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?artid=17915670