Canada’s India connection at Olympic qualifiers
Biswajyoti Brahma & Ritu Sejwal, TNN
It’s not just India who would be feeling at home at the ongoing Olympic qualifiers. For some members of the Canadian team too, it’s like performing at “home”. One of the senior-most players of the squad, Ken Pereira, has his roots in India.
The parents of 38-year-old and 345-match veteran were born and raised in India before migrating to Canada. Jagdish Gill, whose father worked for Air India, picked hockey watching players at the Khalsa English High School in Kolkata, the place of his origin. Gabbar Singh of Batala, played hockey at junior level in India before migrating to Canada at the age of 19.
There’s more. Brothers Kinder and Minder Gill are originally from Manuke, Punjab. Kinder is the manager of the team, while Binder is the team’s video technician.
Sisters-in-arms
The sister duo in the Ukrainian team, Maryna Vynohradova and Nataliya Vasyukova, ia making quite an impact. “Our understanding on the turf gives a lot of positives to the team,” Maryna said after a 5-2 victory over Canada.
Maryna (28), who picked hockey from her elder sister Nataliya (31), now leads the Ukraine team and has 141 caps. Maryna is married to an Italian while sister Nataliya married a Ukrainian. “Now that we are married, we look for opportunities like these to be together,” Maryna said.
The sisters switch positions with ease depending on the match situation and also motivate each other. “We help each other in difficult situations. Like in today’s game, Nataliya kept losing confidence, so I gave her a pep-talk. That made the difference,” Maryna said.