New Indian Express: At Home in Hockey India League Mishmash

LUCKNOW:In 2014, there was talk of Australian Jamie Dwyer calling it quits, thus bringing an end to perhaps the most successful career in modern hockey. Some said the then 35-year-old had called it quits. Others said he was not ready to hang up his boots, or rather, stick.

But Jamie, who is part of Uttar Pradesh Wizards this HIL, has put all that behind, and is now focused on HIL. “I never officially retired. Maybe Ric (Charlesworth, the then coach of Australia) tried to retire me. But I’m past that now, and had a very good 2015, where I scored around 28 goals in 30 games. Now the focus is on doing well for UP. I need to keep improving and give my best for Wizards and Australia,” said the only Australian captain to grab Olympic gold.

A regular at the HIL, the Queensland native has enjoyed his Indian sojourn. “It’s been good. It’s my fourth year here, but first with UP. It’s challenging for a foreigner to get used to this sort of style, as you have Australian, Argentinean, German, Dutch, South African and Scottish players. Then the Indians. So it’s not easy to get all combinations early.

Before coming, I was looking forward to playing with Akashdeep (Singh), Ramandeep (Singh) and PR Sreejesh, who’s a great goalkeeper, as I wanted to be on the same field as them,” he revealed.

However, he was a bit amused with the low price he went for at the auctions. “Thanks for making me realise that! Sometimes, you see players making a lot of money and think they don’t deserve it. But in my mind, they’re good players. Maybe my age played a factor, but it’s very enjoyable coming here and playing, and that’s most important,” he noted.

Jamie, who will retire after the Rio Olympics, recently broke the Australian record for their most capped player. But he feels there’s work to be done. “It feels good, but there’s still a while for Rio. At my age, I’ve to be very thorough with what I eat and how I train. If I get to the Olympics, I’ll be very happy. But the most satisfying thing is that after Rio, I can look in the mirror and tell myself I gave it my all.”

He feels the Olympics will be tough. “We have a great team but so do Germany, Holland and Belgium. Britain, India and Argentina are constantly improving. It’s not going to be easy. Anyone can win in Rio, I hope it’s us, but who knows,” he signed off.