File image of India's Lalit Upadhyay. AFP
There have been bad days, worse days, pathetic days for Lalit Upadhyay as a hockey player but those are behind now. His bronze medal has changed everything.
File image of India's Lalit Upadhyay. AFP
Words flow endlessly from Lalit Upadhyay. Despite no sleep in the last 48 hours or so, there are little signs of fatigue. His face reflects pride, and he is ready for some marathon interviews. There is no stopping him. There have been bad days, worse days, pathetic days for him as a hockey player but those are behind him. Today he is an Olympic medallist and he proudly says he is the first from his city, Varanasi, after Mohammed Shahid. But he does not forget to mention the seniors who came between him and Shahid and played for India at the Games.
"Vivek Singh and his younger brother Rahul Singh too played hockey for India at the Olympics. After Mohammed Shahid, I am the first medallist from Banaras, with the blessings of Mahadev (Lord Shiva)," says Lalit.
Lalit pretty much defines the feeling for all medallists who have returned home with a medal when he says, "Whenever an athlete brings a medal, that happiness cannot be described in words. It is a unique feeling. No amount of media coverage or number on bank cheque can top it."
His career could have been nipped in the bud after his name was brought up in a TV news channel's sting operation. Lalit, then 17, found himself sidelined thanks to a group of reporters posing as agents from TV news channel bribing to the then Indian Hockey Federation secretary to include him in the squad. Lalit faced a dark period after that but he was lucky to come out of it after the channel cleared that his name was randomly taken by them.
I want to thank each and everyone who all have supported to me all the time , so I have to keep doing what I do, which is keep winning medals for my country. This is just simply amazing feeling when you won medal after 41 years in Olympics .#bronze @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/zNJz9KiBup
— Lalit Upadhyay (@lalithockey) August 5, 2021
Coming from a humble background, he felt his career was over then and there but he fought back with his stick. A few days back he was standing at the podium with his bronze medal, remembering all the hardships that he went through. When asked about the struggles, he quips he has a word in Hindi but it is not advisable to use it in an interview. But he tries to describe it.
"There are always people who pass comments like, 'So what, his name came in the newspaper, players come and go, many have played, what have they achieved.' You face all of that. There is a saying called never give up. But you understand it fully when you see the struggle in life. You understand how hard it is to implement this saying in life," says Lalit.
And he has had his share of hardships when buying quality shoes and hockey sticks were a huge task. Coming from a lower-middle-class house, financial struggles were obvious. Lalit says it was his SAI coach Parmanand Mishra who helped him with the equipment at the start of his career. Without him, he says, the medal would not have been a possibility.
New Zealand's Shea Mcaleese (L) and India's Lalit Kumar Upadhyay vie for the ball during their men's pool A match of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. AFP
"The whole credit goes to him (Mishra). As a player, if you are not financially stable, you need such support from others. These days shoes and hockey equipment are so expensive. In the past, hockey sticks used to come at an affordable price but today the prices have really gone up. A good, graphite hockey stick today costs Rs 5,000-6,000. The ones with which we play is sponsored, they are worth Rs 25,000," explains Lalit on how difficult it is to pursue a sport if you don't belong to a family that can afford these things.
After all the struggle and problems came the Tokyo Olympics where the dream was to be fulfilled. Before the bronze medal match, there wasn't anything going on in his mind like all others but the will to give it all.
"We were not thinking anything negative. We used to think that if we have got a chance to bring a medal for India after 41 years, then it is important for us to think only about our aim, otherwise history will remember us as also-rans that went to the Olympics and returned empty-handed."
As a part of team protocol, the players were told to not use their phones or check social media updates, in order to keep distraction and negativity away.
"I am sure when we lost 1-7 to Australia, there must have been some nasty comments thrown at us. During the tournament, you don't want to read such things. Social media sees the result, not the process," says Lalit.
There however would be updates from IOC officials of the fan following that was building up on social media after every win. But the team got to believe it when they actually saw the reception at the airport. Lalit says he is still to come in terms with the massive fan following the team has gained post the Games.
"I am speechless to see the fan following for our team at this Olympics. It is unbelievable to see this is happening to hockey."
Delight to receive good wishes from honourable Chief minister @myogiadityanath ji Sir Thank you for your wishes and blessings ,feeling blessed #blessed #UttarPradesh #varanasi #HarHarMahadevॐ pic.twitter.com/dt134GOkNv
— Lalit Upadhyay (@lalithockey) August 12, 2021
The 28-year-old landed in Varanasi after eight months. Local newspapers say he went to Kashi Vishwanath Temple before heading home where he was received by his parents. The financial woes are now behind him, finally. Thanks to the hockey stick which, at Rs 1200, was once too costly to afford, he has fetched rewards worth crores from various quarters. He is yet to figure out what to do with the windfall, but for now, he will be heading to his friends who have been upset with him for the past few months for not replying to their text messages.
"As professionals, while preparing for big tournaments, we wake up at an exact time, sleep at a particular time, stay away from social media, use phone only to receive and make calls to family. The friends used to get angry that you don't have time for us. Now I will go and meet them and tell them, 'ab milo aa gaya hoon, ab free hoon ekdum. (Let's meet now, I am home).'"