As part of my internship at The Quint, I was informed that I’d be filming a live interview with the Indian Hockey Team at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.
A 21 year old who follows sports to the extent of Virat Kohli, cricket and a little bit of tennis, I was fairly excited about meeting the country’s hockey stars.
The team was returning home after a long month of touring, having participated in the Champions Trophy (where they reached the finals for the first time ever) and the Six Nations Tournament.
When I arrived at the airport, I was shocked.
Yeah, shocked.
I was expecting a grand welcome for the players with a lot of media and reasonable amount of people clapping, asking for autographs and selfies. However, except for a handful of news channel representatives, the airport had its standard level of buzz.
As the group casually walked out of the airport with other travellers, it was hard to believe that this was the National Hockey Team returning home after a remarkable performance at a major tournament.
The only way of telling them apart were their jerseys. The team, which has been making news for their commendable performance, and the upcoming Rio bout were a shy and happy lot.
On being approached, Rupinder Pal Singh from Punjab and VR Raghunath from Bangalore readily agreed to be interviewed. The world class drag flickers seemed happy with their performance in the Champions Trophy and were confident when questioned on their preparation for the upcoming Rio Olympics.
Towering over the team at 6 feet 3 inches, Rupinder Singh said:
We are going to work on improving a few details, but other than that we are confident to face the other teams at the Olympics.
Akashdeep Singh, was, however, the highlight for me. The Virat Kohli of Indian Hockey, Singh became the highest Indian buy in the IPL equivalent, Hockey India League auction going for a whopping $84,000 while skipper Sardar Singh went for just $58,000.
I didn’t think we’d end up getting a proper interview from the 21 year old. However, the striker was nothing you’d expect a world class player to be. It was unimaginable to see a player who has achieved so much in world hockey to hide behind his teammate when asked for an interview.
Sardar Singh was not what you expect the captain of the national sport of India would be like. The skipper did not have the air of a Mahendra Singh Dhoni or Virat Kohli. Despite being in a hurry to leave, Sardara stopped to answer everything we asked him.
For a man who has a big decision ahead of him, team coach Roelant Oltmans seemed to be very relaxed and proud of what his team has achieved so far. From the 26-men squad, coach Oltmans will have to choose 16 men who will be representing India in Rio this August. Considering so many of the young lads have done such a great job in the recent past, the decision will surely be a hard one.
Walking out with a big smile on his face and a bagful of duty-free shopping, PR Sreejesh was very happy to be home. One of the top goalkeepers in the world, he is known to be the most fun guy in the team. “Tired of seeing the same faces everyday”, Sreejesh was looking forward to meeting his family after a long time.
Happy with their performance in the Champions Trophy and glad to be home, all the players in the team urged their fellow countrymen to keep supporting them ahead of the Rio Olympics. It’s definitely sad to see that these players don’t get the kind of appreciation that they deserve. But then again, maybe that is what has been driving them to perform the way they have been in the past few months.
Watch the Facebook Live here: Hockey Team Arrive Home After Champions Trophy Silver
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