Canada banks on its Indian connections Beijing calling
6 Indian-origin players in hockey team
Sandip G Chennai
FOR the first time in an Olympics, India’s hockey side would be conspicuous by their absence. But that should not dampen your patriotic fervour, if you are a die-hard Indian hockey enthusiast. For Canada’s hockey team would feature six Indian origin players, besides their support staff.
While Ranjeev Deol, Bindi Kullar, Ravi Kahlon and Sukhwinder Singh Deol are from Punjab, Wayne Fernandes and Ken Pereira trace their roots to Goa. Among the support staff, Coach Louis Menconda is a Goan, assistant coach Nick Sandhu hails from a village near Batala in Punjab, while manager Ajay Dube and resident doctor Naveen Prasad are from New Delhi.
With a large number of Indian immigrants and diaspora in Canada, it is hardly a surprise. Interestingly, the first Canadian to score an international goal (in 1963), Pundit Rai, was an Indian immigrant. In 1932, a handful of first-generation emigrants established the Indian Field Hockey Club (IFHC) at Vancouver. Most of the players with Punjabi roots owe their legacy to this club, where hockey is played more with the idea of socialisation. Yet, they have managed to lift 18 of the 22 Vancouver Field Hockey League championships from 1980 to 2001.
In between, the club has churned players of repute like defender Bindi, who learned the game from his father Pritpal Singh Kullar. A factory worker, Kullar senior was born in Sansarpur village near Jalandhar, once the Mecca of Indian hockey. A manager with a lumber company, 31-year-old Bindi has earned 135 international caps.
Like Bindi, compatriot Ranjeev Deol, too, learned hockey from his father Surjeet Singh Deol, who represented Kenya at three Olympics (1956, 1960 and 1964). Though Ranjeev missed the 2000 Sydney Olympics owing to an injury , he played a vital part in taking Canada to Beijing. Defender Ravi Kahlon, 29, is the other pillar for Canada. Hoping to gain from their vast experience is Sukhwinder Singh, who has played 20 times in Canada’s colours.
It’s not just the Punjabis who are dominating Canada’s hockey scene.
Playmaker Ken is the most experienced player in this side with 237 caps. Equally pivotal is Wayne Fernandes, a floating midfielder/defender, who struck home the penalty stroke that ensured Canada a berth in Beijing Olympics. However, they are in a tough group comprising Australia, Netherlands, Pakistan and Great Britain. History, too, is stacked against them. Their best show so far has been a 10th place, which they managed thrice (1976, 1984, 2000). But at least they have managed a qualification for Beijing, unlike their brothers in India.