Ram’s brace for ONGC on debut

Dhananjay Roy

ONGC’s Diwakar Ram scores his side’s second goal against Central Railway yesterday

Indian hockey has been through turbulent times this year, but one player who has managed to come out unscathed is drag-flicker Diwakar Ram. In fact, the 18-year-old has only grown in stature with every passing tournament.

“It was really tough for us after we failed to qualify for the Olympics. But there’s no point thinking about it all the time. I am sure things will be better in the coming major tournaments,” said the defender who has signed up with ONGC and is representing the side at the 8th Guru Tegh Bahadur Gold Cup tournament.

ONGC beat Central Railway 3-2 and advanced to the quarterfinals where they now take on Air India on Thursday. Ram scored the first two goals for the victors.

But why did he opt for ONGC given that he was playing for India Oil which itself is a strong outfit. “ONGC is in the process of building a young team and I thought it would be beneficial for me to play for them,” explained Ram who has been placed in the company’s HR department.

What does he think about his own position in the Indian squad given that Sandeep Singh and V Raghunath too have delivered the goods in the recent past. “It’s a healthy competition and I must ensure that I am always fit and in form,” he said.

Results: ONGC beat Central Railways 3-2, Indian Navy beat Mumbai Customs 5-3, MSP beat SAI 5-2.