As though the colonial hangover over Goan football wasn’t enough. The hockey team picked up their sticks and flew to beloved Lisbon over the weekend to take part in an invitation tournament.
Why Portugal? One can understand an obsession with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portuguese exponents who are right up there among the world’s superpowers. The soccer superstar’s poor hock ey stick wielding cousins are a distant 41 in the world rankings and are as obscure internationally as Goa is in Indian hockey .
The funds in flying the squad to Lisbon are the Government’s who supported GHA president Herculano Dourado’s enthusiasm of flying the team out to the event. This, after the GHA has incurred the wrath of the hockey fraternity for inactivity over the last couple of decades.
The Rip Van Winkle in GHA should have been asked to rub 20 years and a bit of slumber from his eyes before he was rendered support for this ridiculous sojourn.
The tax payer would agree!