For Devindar Walmiki, it’s India first and last. But for the moment the Mumbai-based hockey Olympian is going Dutch.

He was recently back home from The Netherlands in wake of a lockdown induced by Covid-19, before leaving again a few days ago. The 28-year-old Devindar is clear about his aspirations.

“I want to play for India but if I can’t, I wish to experience the Hoofdklasse (the Dutch premier division),” says the Mumbai-based midfielder, younger brother of Yuvraj, who also donned the country’s colours but like his sibling lost his place in the India side.

The 2014 World Cupper 2016 Olympian plays for H.O.C. Galellen-Combinatie (HGC) in Wassenaar, having joined the club in 2019, and enjoys the great benefits playing in the Netherlands brings.

“Every India player should play in the Dutch league,” he says. “Clubs there have structure and at least three pitches, something absent in our hockey.

“Dutch hockey is high in intensity lacking in our tournaments,” Devindar reflected.

“It has been a very useful experience especially the freedom the coach gives me to play and be effective to the team.”

The Hoofdklasse involves some of the top players in the world and it doesn’t surprise Devindar that every player worth his salt aims to be part of it.

He was given the big break by former India coach Paul van Ass who guides HGC.

Devinder Walmiki: Sweating it out for India. Photo: K. Arumugam

“I have always been in touch with Mr Van Ass especially since I broke into the India team when he was coach,” explains the 43-time capped India player.

“Even though I received offers from other top Dutch clubs Bloomendaal and Kampong, I accepted HGC’s,” Devindar reveals.

Events were to prove it was the right decision.

Devindar excelled on debut, scoring against CA-Mortrouge of France in the EHL and kept up the ante. At the end of the season he was adjudged one of the club’s top three players.

His hiatus came in June, and flew back to the Netherlands, recently.

“If the EHL is held later this year, HGC will qualify as third in the Dutch league. If not we start from scratch for the 2020-21 season,” Devindar explained.

And going back to the Netherlands will enhance the midfielder’s bid to reclaim his place in the India squad.

“I realized that playing in the Netherlands needs a deep understanding of the game and what the coach’s plans are,” he says.

“It’s that coordination with the game plan that the coach has in mind that makes for success,” he explains.

“And very often a player has to understand it in high-pressure situations – sometimes at halftime when you have just five or six minutes.”

Which is why Devindar is grateful to his parents who put their children through an English-medium education despite their struggle to eke out a living.

“I attended Our Lady of Dolours High School in Mumbai,” he said. “Being English medium, the school took care of my language,” the articulate midfielder reveals.

He however feels for Harjeet, his Indian teammate and captain of the 2016 Junior World Cup winning squad.

Unlike Devindar, Harjeet will not fly back to the Netherlands after having an indifferent season.

“It’s perhaps his lack of fluency in English which came in the way of an effective performance,” Devindar reckons.

Harjeet Sing on top of Harmanpreet Singh. Harjeet’s lack of communication skills could well be the reason why he was not called for the second season   Photo: Hockey India

“But I share the coach’s view that he has skills to make a comeback but I believe he needs to work on communication which is crucial for success in Europe.”

Hockey-wise, Devindar owes his rise up the echelons to Dronacharya awardee Merzban Patel, affectionately called Bawa, whose Bombay Republicans Club has been a nursery for many an India star down the ages.

Once groomed, Devindar turned out for Union Bank of India before enjoying a stint with Air India in 2011.

Devindar played for Central Railway in 2013 before joining Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited which he serves as A Grade Executive — a move that did much for his personal security as well as hockey career.

The Hockey India League (HIL), now suspended, provided Devindar an opportunity to rub shoulders with the best in the business.

His tryst with Kalinga Lancers, an Odisha side, culminated in triumph in 2017 when the league was last held.

In the meantime, his India career had taken off. He was selected for the 2014 World Cup in Den Hague, the Netherlands, along with Yuvraj and the duo also travelled to the 2015 Hockey World League in Antwerp.

Strikingly, the brothers got on to the scoresheet in a 3-0 win over Poland.

While injuries and vagaries of selection and form affected his older sibling, Devindar did the family proud by making it to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Brothers Yuvraj and Devinder with their German Club mates, 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

His stints in Europe seemed to help. Traveling to Germany in 2011 for a season, Devindar played for TG Frankenthal and later Grossflotbekker. The time spent (he returned for the2017 and 2018 seasons)  in Germany went a long way to developing his stature as a versatile player – sound in defence with the ability to move up and even score.

“Then when I joinded HGC in the Netherlands, it helped me hone my attacking skills,” Devindar reflects.

In his sojourn between continents, Devindar hasn’t forgotten his humble beginnings and the grinding poverty that his family had to endure.

He owes it to hockey for helping his family out of adversity – from a shanty devoid of basic amenities to a decent dwelling — and has made a head start in giving back to the game with an altruistic effort.

And what better than to impart the nuances to children in Sangamner, near Nashik, 169 km from Mumbai. “I started five years ago with three children and now train around 140, of which 40 are girls, with the help of two coaches,” Devindar, who now conducts online training for the children, reveals.

Some of Devinder Walmiki’s beneficiary boys

It’s a gesture that expresses gratitude for the influence that helped him build a career and it includes brother Yuvraj, Bawa and the iconic Dhanraj Pillay whose mentorship he savours till this day.

Together with his own personality traits, Devindar combines “honesty and modesty” with a hunger to be an asset to team and society.

“It’s an endeavour to be the best version of myself,” Devindar says.

“I want to be a light in the room,” he says. “I have the confidence and I know I can be counted on by the team.”

“It helps me conquer fear and believe in myself. Fear creates a mountain in your mind. Without it, you win half the battle,” Devindar pours forth the reasons for surpassing many a stern challenge.

At HCG, in the company of world greats the likes of Seve van Ass, son of coach Paul, Japan’s Kanta Tanaka, and Argentina’s Maico Casselas, Devindar will continue the other half of the battle in his path back to donning the India colours.

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FACTFILE

Full name: Devindar Sunil Walmiki

Born: 28 May 1992 in Mumbai

Playing position:     Midfielder

Current club: HGC, The Netherlands (from 2019)

National team: 2014 (debut)

Caps:  43

Medals

Champions Trophy: Silver, London 2016

Hockey World League: Bronze, 2014–15 Raipur.

Asian Champions Trophy: Gold: 2016 Kuantan