Times of India: Rasquinha makes comeback, to play World Series Hockey

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Rasquinha makes comeback, to play World Series Hockey

BANGALORE: Former India captain Viren Rasquinha will return to competitive hockey three years after he retired from the game, this time for the World Series Hockey that gets underway next month. He is the second player to emerge out of retirement after Dhanraj Pillay, who earlier signed up for the league at the age of 43.

Viren, 31, who quit hockey in 2007 to pursue a course and career in business management, signed a contract with WSH for a handsome payout on Tuesday. He has already begun his fitness workouts and hopes to be battle-ready in around 45 days.

“The emotion of winning and losing is amazing. The camaraderie in the dressing room, the team spirit that binds you as a unit, can be experienced only by a player,” Viren told TOI. “I have been playing rink hockey for a while now, I have also turned out for Air India in the senior division of the Mumbai league. But that was for fun. If I had to make a serious comeback, it had to be in a high-level competition that would motivate me to do it. WSH, according to me, is the right platform,” Viren added.

Obviously, the bug of competition hasn’t gone out of Viren. After being dumped from the 2006 Doha Asian Games squad, he made a brief comeback during a 2007 national camp before deciding to plump for a course at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad the next year. What followed was a fruitful role of CEO at Olympic Gold Quest. Life, now, has come a full circle.

Having signed a one-year contract, Viren said he would have to devote equal attention to WSH and OGQ. “OGQ is, and always will be, my No. 1 commitment. I am grateful to the OGQ board for having permitted me to sign up for WSH. I have nothing left to prove. I have no other ambition but to train hard and play well. By doing so, I hope to encourage parents to get kids to play hockey,” Rasquinha added.