Hockey medal hopes fade into greener pastures

– BSNL recruitment in state comes as a blessing in disguise for Jharkhand Hockey Association

JAYESH THAKER

Chasing new dreams: Players rest during the Jharkhand State Hockey Championship at JRD Tata Sports Complex. Picture by Srinivas

Jamshedpur, Nov. 6: Job trap of other states have cost Jharkhand at least 15 top-bracket hockey players, upsetting Jharkhand Hockey Association’s (JHA) preparations for the 34th National Games.

JHA officials are pleading employers of these outstation hockey players to get their release on a temporary basis. But it’s not sure if the state hockey association would succeed in its bid. Efforts are also on to strengthen the reserve bench.

“Getting our players released temporarily is a Herculean task. But we are trying our best. Our best players have left us in the lurch, but we cannot blame them as there are no employment opportunities in Jharkhand,” JHA secretary Peer Mohammad told The Telegraph.

He said that most of the boys, who would have formed the nucleus of the host side during the Games, have landed jobs in different states.

While Jaman Dhan, Rohan Bhengra and Lacchu Dodrai have been recruited by West Bengal State Electricity Board, Sushil Topno and Nirus Tiru have joined Army Signal Corps in Hyderabad. Shashi Topno has been roped in on contract by Indian Oil Corporation in Delhi. The JHA secretary said Shashi’s sibling Sumit, has joined a Delhi-based hockey academy.

Shashi and Sumit are sons of Olympic hockey player Manohar Topno.

“Three other boys have got jobs with the Bihar Regiment Centre (Danapur) while two have been inducted as cadets by the Bangalore-based Hockey Excellence Centre,” the JHA secretary said.

According to Herman Lakra, the hockey coach at Sports Authority of India (Ranchi centre), these 15 players were part of the first phase of the training camp for the Games.

“They were with us when the camp was held at Jamshedpur last August-September. They left Jharkhand in phases. Now, we will have to start afresh by locating talented players who can be fielded during the Games,” he added.

JHA officials stated that chances of the agencies releasing players from Jharkhand are bleak because they would like them to play for states where they are presently based.

“We have to make do with the current crop of players at our disposal,” one of them said.

Interestingly, JHA has so far not given the “no objection certificates” to the players who have switched sides. But the state body would have to provide the certificate at some point of time because abstaining from giving the clearance would earn bad publicity for the association. “People will say we are against employment opportunities being given to our boys,” a senior JHA functionary said.

The loss of quality players notwithstanding, there’s a silver lining for the hockey association. Players like Samuel Nag, Sudhir Bhengra, Thomas Nag, Sunil Tirkey and Cyrian Kullu have recently landed jobs with the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in Jharkhand. “It’s certainly a ray of hope for us. They will don state jerseys at the Games since they are based in Jharkhand,” an official said.