The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : Book on Dhanraj Pillay released

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 18, 2007
ePaper

Sport

Sport - Hockey

Book on Dhanraj Pillay released

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Indian hockey may not be in the best of health, but the atmosphere was vibrant as the glorious past and the capricious present raised mixed emotions when hockey icon Dhanraj Pillay released the book Forgive me amma here on Thursday.

"I couldn't understand the title initially. Maybe, it was the right title,'' said four-time Olympian Dhanraj, as he thanked the author, Sundeep Misra, for writing a book on hockey and himself.

For country and mother

"I played only for two reasons. One for the country and then for my mother. The country has given me so much that I have nothing more to ask. At the Sydney Olympics, we were 99 per cent in the semifinals, to play Pakistan. We were all thinking that if we win today's match against Poland, Indian hockey would have qualified for the semifinals after the 1980 Olympics. There was a bit of rain, and there was pressure on the team. We didn't qualify. I cried for the next four or five days, because I had said that it would be my last Olympics,'' said Dhanraj.

The author Sundeep Misra, a hockey journalist for nearly two decades, overheard the conversation between Dhanraj and his mother on the phone and the seeds of the book and the eventual title had been sown then.

Balbir's praise

Three-time Olympic gold medallist Balbir Singh Sr. was all praise for the Dhanraj's playing skills and the author's writing skills.

"I wanted to read a few paras or a couple of pages before writing something on the book, but I went on and on until I finished the book. Truth is greater than fiction, and Sundeep is a very talented writer,'' said Balbir.

"I watched Pillay first in the Atlanta Olympics. He had the talent, but he couldn't use it to win the tournament. He tended to play to the gallery initially. He would leave the ball only when the opponents snatched it from him. It is an irony that when he started playing for the team he was not required any more,'' said Balbir.

Emotional attachment

The coach of the Indian hockey team that won the Asian Games gold in 1998, M.K. Kaushik, said Dhanraj was an emotional person and strongly attached to the game.

"We were preparing for the Commonwealth Games and were playing a match against Karnataka with Ashish Ballal in the goal. We couldn't score a goal, and Dhanraj asked why we couldn't call up Ballal. I told him that Ballal was his senior and might get the captaincy if he made the team. Dhanraj was not bothered about it and it was his suggestion that led us eventually to the Asian Games gold," said Kaushik.

Former Test cricketer Ajay Jadeja said he was impressed with the Dhanraj's physical fitness and his genius on the field.

"I am glad I played four Olympics, but I don't have an Olympic medal to show. One Olympic medal is bigger than everything. We will all stick to the game and get hockey back to the glory days of Balbir Singh Sr.,'' said Dhanraj, as he thanked the publisher Wisdom Tree, for sparing time, energy and resources for hockey, despite the game not doing that well in the international arena.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail