Indian hockey’s brand ambassador and famous cine actor Suniel Shetty wants more media coverage for hockey.

“Today (the day after India won the Asia Cup), I went through most of the papers, and it pained me to see that the Indian hockey win was given only one column space by the newspapers, with the drab headline ‘India win Asia Cup.’ And the loss of the cricket team was given pages and pages. It’s time to highlight the ones who deserve some merit. Fine, cricket is a passion with people. I too love the game, but give hockey the due it deserves” Shetty said in an interview to Aasawari Shenolikar in the Nagpur based newspaper, The Hitavada.

Suniel, who was in a sling recovering from an injury, was present for the India-Korea tie in the recently concluded Asia Cup.

Regarding the present hockey team, he said: “The blend of defence and attack is simply awesome. It’s a young team which has a non-nonsense coach (Joaquim Carvalho) who is fantastic in his approach to the game. It’s a more focused team consisting of young blood. The youth has taken to the national game within the last two to three years and today we have a very talented team”.

Shetty was very much appreciative of the crowd in Chennai. “The stadium was packed and 15 thousand people for a game like hockey…that is something! People have started recognizing the worth of the game. The crowd’s confidence builds up the confidence of the team, helping them raise their game”.

When s2h interacted with the actor at Chennai, it was found his knowledge on the sport was no less. On asked about the past players, he could name BP Govinda, Ajit Pal, Dhanraj Pillay and etc.

It is a well augury for the hockey sport that public figures like Suniel Shetty extend their name and fame to hockey.