Andreu finds giving more enriching than on-field gains
Satya Siddharth Rath, TNN
MUMBAI: Andreu Enrich quit international hockey when he was just 22. He wasn’t injured. His form didn’t drop. He had just played a key role in Spain’s bronze medal finish at the 2005 Champions Trophy in Chennai.
He was part of the Spanish squad that won the 2004 Champions Trophy in Lahore. He was even touted as a future captain. Yet, he decided to call it a day in early 2006.
Something else beckoned him, something that had struck a chord with his heart. It happened after a visit to Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, soon after the 2005 Champions Trophy in Chennai.
Enrich was already associated with an NGO ( Rural Development Trust), which had been working in the area, and had sponsored a child through it. Being in India, he wanted to visit the place and see the progress of the child.
The visit left a lasting impression. He realized he had to do a lot more. “Sport can be a very important social development tool for kids in rural areas. I discussed the idea with my teammate Santi Freixa (Spanish centre-forward) and we thought of starting a hockey school there with the support of RDT,” Enrich told TOI from Madrid.
Thus was born ‘Stick for India’. “The project needed my full-time attention, so I decided to resign from the national team,” added Enrich, the ace defender. “I have no regrets. The experience has been simply amazing. I feel a kind of fullness in my life when I see the smiles on the faces of those kids. When I visit the villages from where they came from, and discover how their lives were before the project and how it is now… it’s a different feeling altogether.”
Starting with makeshift camps with hardly 20 students in 2006, ‘Stick for India’ has now become a full-fledged hockey movement. Nearly 1,200 players train at the two residential academies – one each for boys and girls – in a 40-acre campus.
Several Indian and international players support the project with periodic visits. “Our aim is to create national-level players. Talent is abundant here, they just need proper guidance. One of our players ( Bhaskar Naik) is playing for Army XI, many are playing in local leagues. But it’s just the beginning, there’s a long way to go,” said Enrich.
The Spaniard will also play in the World Series Hockey. “It’s a brilliant concept which has never been attempted anywhere before. I am sure the WSH will help bring about resurgence in Indian hockey. Though I have been out of the national team, I still play regularly in the European leagues. I am the captain of my club (Atletic Terrassa Hockey Club) which is considered one of the best sides in Europe. I feel better and fitter than when I was at 22. It will be great fun playing in India again,” he said.
Enrich, however, can’t hide his disappointment at the current state of the game in India, considering the ongoing fight between Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation. “It’s very disappointing. We can discuss about future plans, new projects etc, but with two bodies, nothing will be successful. The problem is not political or organizational; it’s more about egos.”