India U-19 cricketers cheer from the stands as Indian men’s hockey team thrash Japan in 4 nations
ET CONTRIBUTORS|
Jan 18, 2018, 09.12 AM IST
By Snehal Pradhan
In Bengaluru, the National Cricket Academy and the Sports Authority of India's hockey campus are 13 kilometers apart. Yet they hardly overlap, separated as much by Bengaluru traffic as by the gulf in popularity between the two sports. However, almost 12,000 kilometers away from home, in Tauranga, the two found a common ground.
As a spell of rain on Wednesday halted play at the cricket ground, the Indian Under-19 cricket team walked to the astroturf — which is just a two-minute away from the cricket ground — to watch the Indian men's hockey team play their first match of the Four Nation Hockey Tournament. As if to inspire the younsters, the Indian team displayed a ruthless game of hockey and routed Japan 6-0. In the match, as many as four players made their debuts and two of them scored, too.
Despite the slim odds of two different sporting codes finding each other in a foreign land, it was not surprising to see Prithvi Shaw and Co. there, considering that head coach Rahul Dravid briefly played hockey himself. "I played hockey in school. I played with a couple of guys who went on to play for India," said Dravid in a courtside interview after India's game. Those players were Anil Aldrin and Sandeep Somesh, who also studied in Bangalore's St Joseph's boys high school. "When I played on the school team with them I realised I wasn't very good. But I loved playing hockey in school, love following hockey, love following the Indian team. It's really a lovely sport to watch, a great sport to play."
On Tuesday, with India's match against Papua New Guinea finishing early, Dravid crossed over to the hockey arena where India men were in pre-match training, and spent some time talking to them. "It felt great to meet Dravid, he is a legend of the sport", said Manpreet Singh, captain of the Indian team. "He spoke to us, said to do your best, and don't think about the result. Whatever matches you may play, play to win. And he said that his team will come and support us." Besides the thrill of watching India play their national game, one of the reasons Dravid would have been keen on his wards watching hockey could have been the opportunity to learn from other sports.
"There is really much knowledge", said India coach Sjoerd Marijne. "I think with every sport there are always crossovers, also with this."
Manpreet concurred. "You have experienced players like Virat Kohli, or how Sachin, MS Dhoni always remain cool; these things are really worth learning. In hockey also you have the need to remain calm, and be focused; these things are common between the two. Similarly, in hockey till the last whistle blows things can change. So they can learn this from our team, to do their best till the last over."
The hockey team play favourites Belgium on Thursday, but have a rest day on Friday, when the cricket team plays Zimbabwe. And the men plan to use it to cheer for the boys. "Yes, we will be watching, of course", said Marijne. "The boys all follow cricket so it's really nice. I'm from Holland, and don't know much about it. But we have to cheer for each other."
Blake Park, which houses both the cricket ground and the hockey arena, is home to more than those two sports. Walking north from its south end, you will pass a skatepark, two indoor basketball courts, eight netball courts, six tennis courts, and a rugby field. Not surprising that New Zealand produces so many multi-sport athletes. Back home, cricket dominates the country's imagination with a singular oppression. But just because most Indians don't play other sports, doesn't mean they can't learn from them.
(The writer is the Former India Cricketer)
In Bengaluru, the National Cricket Academy and the Sports Authority of India's hockey campus are 13 kilometers apart. Yet they hardly overlap, separated as much by Bengaluru traffic as by the gulf in popularity between the two sports. However, almost 12,000 kilometers away from home, in Tauranga, the two found a common ground.
As a spell of rain on Wednesday halted play at the cricket ground, the Indian Under-19 cricket team walked to the astroturf — which is just a two-minute away from the cricket ground — to watch the Indian men's hockey team play their first match of the Four Nation Hockey Tournament. As if to inspire the younsters, the Indian team displayed a ruthless game of hockey and routed Japan 6-0. In the match, as many as four players made their debuts and two of them scored, too.
Despite the slim odds of two different sporting codes finding each other in a foreign land, it was not surprising to see Prithvi Shaw and Co. there, considering that head coach Rahul Dravid briefly played hockey himself. "I played hockey in school. I played with a couple of guys who went on to play for India," said Dravid in a courtside interview after India's game. Those players were Anil Aldrin and Sandeep Somesh, who also studied in Bangalore's St Joseph's boys high school. "When I played on the school team with them I realised I wasn't very good. But I loved playing hockey in school, love following hockey, love following the Indian team. It's really a lovely sport to watch, a great sport to play."
On Tuesday, with India's match against Papua New Guinea finishing early, Dravid crossed over to the hockey arena where India men were in pre-match training, and spent some time talking to them. "It felt great to meet Dravid, he is a legend of the sport", said Manpreet Singh, captain of the Indian team. "He spoke to us, said to do your best, and don't think about the result. Whatever matches you may play, play to win. And he said that his team will come and support us." Besides the thrill of watching India play their national game, one of the reasons Dravid would have been keen on his wards watching hockey could have been the opportunity to learn from other sports.
"There is really much knowledge", said India coach Sjoerd Marijne. "I think with every sport there are always crossovers, also with this."
Manpreet concurred. "You have experienced players like Virat Kohli, or how Sachin, MS Dhoni always remain cool; these things are really worth learning. In hockey also you have the need to remain calm, and be focused; these things are common between the two. Similarly, in hockey till the last whistle blows things can change. So they can learn this from our team, to do their best till the last over."
The hockey team play favourites Belgium on Thursday, but have a rest day on Friday, when the cricket team plays Zimbabwe. And the men plan to use it to cheer for the boys. "Yes, we will be watching, of course", said Marijne. "The boys all follow cricket so it's really nice. I'm from Holland, and don't know much about it. But we have to cheer for each other."
Blake Park, which houses both the cricket ground and the hockey arena, is home to more than those two sports. Walking north from its south end, you will pass a skatepark, two indoor basketball courts, eight netball courts, six tennis courts, and a rugby field. Not surprising that New Zealand produces so many multi-sport athletes. Back home, cricket dominates the country's imagination with a singular oppression. But just because most Indians don't play other sports, doesn't mean they can't learn from them.
(The writer is the Former India Cricketer)
