Left-handed she may be, but Namrata Shah, nee Nazleen Madraswala, would never be left out of anything con nected with hockey.
India’s ‘Lightning Left Winger’ fought the natural disadvantage, turning it into an advantage. She gripped the stick in her left hand and dashed down the left flank — much to the chagrin of defenders, the delight of teammates and fans and the good fortune of Indian women’s hockey .
Now 46, the former Pune resident mentors young pupils in New Zealand. As she does so, one’s sure she imparts not just the technical skills she adeptly displayed in the 1970s and 80s, but the spirit and verve she exuded with other Pune-raised players like Eliza Nelson, Gita Sarin, Rekha Bhide and Mridula Kulkarni that made the Indian team one to be feared.
From an orthodox Bohri background, she braved social pressure to become an active sportswoman.After getting married and bearing a child, she chose to prove a point with a comeback to the Indian squad, five years after quitting in disgust in 1984 — a remarkable achievement by any reckoning.
Namrata takes a trip down memory lane and reaches her career’s finest moment. And it’s not the 1982 New Delhi Asian Games gold medal success. Her heart goes out to that moment in time, when her name was announced among those selected to the Indian side for the World Championship at Vancouver in 1979.
Namrata, however, lives with two deep disappointments.
The failure to win a medal after coming agonizingly close at the 1980 Moscow Olympics — where women’s hockey made its debut. And not winning the Arjuna award, something she has long pined for.
But that neither have affected her zeal and devotion to the game is evident by the picture of the great Dhyan Chand on her work desk.
“My memories of Moscow seem like yesterday,” she said from New Zealand. “The joy of being an Olympian at the age of 18 years was tremendous. And to play in a competition where the greatest sportspersons in the world participate was an overwhelming experience.”
NAMRATA SHAH
• 1980 MOSCOW OLYMPICS
• 1982 ASIAN GAMES GOLD MEDALLIST