Memorable Raipur: Recap of 10 top

GREAT CONTRIBUTION: Creation of two excellent international standard turf grounds in quick succession by the Chhatisgarh Government.

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WONDERFUL: People of Raipur: First time in the history of India, full stands marked for all the matches including on days India was not playing at all. Its unique.

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RESILENCE: German star Furste was seriously injured in the first match. Not many would have thought he will again be playing in the tournament. But he came back and played the next match, surprising one and all. His resoluteness and mental toughness is lesson for every aspiring sportsperson.

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MISSING: Family Connection: Dutch player Seve van Ass may not have created waves here on the turf. He is son of Paul van Ass, who was till recently Indian chief coach. Had his father Paul continued, he would have played against his father’s team. He was here with his mother, and was very composed when asked about his father’s ouster.

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FIRING SINGLE MAN ARMY: Architect student Gonzala Peillat emerged as top scoring machine. Turned out to be the fulcrum around which his team revolved. He was never over-enthusiastic and went overboard. Polite and composed on and off the field. A remarkable rising star, no doubt. He is undoubtedly the star of Raipur razzmatazz.

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SECURITY: We don’t know if India is so dangerous. But the matter of fact is that five pilot cars with siren blazing were provided to each and every Bus or Van that carried not only players but also officials. Entire traffic halted when these vehicles moved on roads even for practice. About 300 police personnel guarded the stadium day in and day out.

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GOAL RIOT: Goals were supposed to rain. Every rule was tweaked to achieve this. But it was not to be in the pool stage. India for example struck four goals in five matches. But when it counted on Sunday, it struck 5 goals, most of them in the fourth quarter. The Dutch also came up with equal enthusiasm, had three in the last ten minutes. 10 goals in the regulation time! Then so many in the shoot out. The match is a hit, delight and how the teams need to fight.

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RARE OMAN FANS: Normally people of Indian origin flock hockey stadium around the world. Mostly they used to be from Europe. This time around six business people from Oman had come. They did not book return ticket. Their idea was to stay till India progresses in the tournament. Nice to see South West NRIs coming to hockey fields.

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CASUAL FIH: Bronze is also a medal. The winning team used to get equal status during final ceremony. This is an established tradition. But a strange thing happened in Raipur. Indian team was given individual prizes, not medals. That too immediately after their match, not after the final. The final ceremony in which the Chief Minister came was restricted to finalists. This is not the way to give honour to a medal winning team which happened to be the home team.

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DOUBLE DELIGHT FOR INDIA: India has been among the medals in all genre of field hockey competitions – Asian level, FIH Level 2 tournaments, invitations events(Commonwealth Games, Afro-Asian games, Asian Games, Asia Cup, Sultan Azlan Shah Cup etc). It did not get medal of any hue in any of the top FIH events which included world’s top 8 or 12 teams such as Olympics, World Cup, Champions Trophy etc. India lost all the semifinals. The jinx had been broken in Raipur. After all, India won a bronze at FIH elite event. The match produced 10 amazing goals, and went down to the wire is a proof how it is difficult to regain top slot in the highly competitive field hockey world. Such a feat occurred on home soils, against full stands is a double delight for the hosts.

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