PANJIM: It is the only sport India has truly dominated on the international stage. Yes, it was a while ago but those were the days. Field hockey was a sport played across the country and players of Goan origin from various parts of the country played for the country with great elan.
The only home-grown Goan players to don the India jersey were goalkeeper Cedric Pereira and Trevor Alexandre Fernandes, a player from Zanzibar, who played for the country but kept missing out on selections to the World Cup in 1971 and the Munich Olympics due to injury. He eventually did make it to the USA Olympics in 1984. The State of Goa, however, seems to have missed out on earning glory through the talent of its sons.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
The administrators in their infinite wisdom stopped sending a team to the senior nationals from 1990 to 2009. That certainly hurt the development of the sport in the State. Since then it has struggled to make a mark at the senior Nationals. The National Games which will now be held in 2023 could provide an opportunity for the State to showcase its talents and tell the world that the State is on its way back to being counted in the sport.
Costau Xavier Marquis, president, Goans Hockey, said, “It was an opportunity to play with the big boys. As hosts we can participate, which is great. The infrastructure is in place and the hockey ground is great.”
Marquis added that the State men’s and women’s teams would in an ideal situation to have two coaches each, the second coach being a Goan. His argument was that there were three to four very good coaches who had been preparing for this event and as such should not be kept out.
Marquis revealed that General Secretary Farrel Furtado e Gracia had asked Hockey India for a coach.
On the ground, he said, “The district tournament has concluded on Monday. This was part of the format introduced by Hockey India. New talent was coming to the fore, in this format.”
For coaches on the ground the challenges are aplenty. Coach Lester Gurjao said, “After Covid-19, it had become very difficult to get back to the standards that were achieved prior to the lockdown. So now we have to prepare ourselves to achieve those standards. We have to start planning five months in advance, need to make the players motivated and have competitions. Nothing is happening now. We have to start now to ensure we can compete with other teams.”
“The fact that there is just one hockey ground in the State means schools may be conducting training sessions on uneven grounds which then lead to poor technique which can lead to dangerous situations.”
Hockey, he said, “suffered from a poor image with parents feeling it was a dangerous game and resulted in their children suffering injuries.” “It was important to make children aware of the sport and how beautiful it could be. This he felt would ensure Goa would start getting a large number of kids attracted to the sport,” he added
Boris Coutinho, who represented the State at the junior level in 1989-90, said, “Right now we are asking for too much if we think the State team will achieve anything of note. However, in two years, I believe Goa will start doing well. Our University teams are doing well in the national tournaments they participate in. However it will be important to ensure the players don’t drop out because once they enter the job market they leave the sport.”
For a player of the present day like Pandu Sakhalkar his concerns were rather basic and to the point.
He said, “I would like a training camp to commence now, which will give us time to absorb and learn new skills and tactics. A camp 15 to 20 days before the games achieve nothing. The technique for the Astroturf is different and it takes time to adjust to it. We have a ground now and it is important that we take maximum advantage of it. There is so much to learn.”
The National Games may not bring much glory to Goa this year but in the years to come, perhaps a star will be born.
