New Indian Express: United by passion, Thalassery men are taking hockey places

Tanmay Das

BHUBANESWAR: When India took on Olympic gold medalist Argentina in the semi-final of Hockey World League (HWL) Final 2017 at Kalinga Stadium here on Friday, in the stands were six men who had come all the way from Oman to cheer for the hosts.

Javis Ahamed, Mohd Raffi, Sirajuddin, Rafath P, Rajeesh Backer and Abdul Rehman Mohd Abdul Rehman are so bound by their unflinching passion for the game that they have taken hockey to different parts of Middle East.

All natives of Thalassery, the city in Kerala’s Malabar coast, the six are members of United Thalassery Sports Club (UTSC) which was first formed in Dubai and now has chapters in Saudi Arabia as well as Oman.

It was Javis, a former player of Kerala hockey team, who ignited the fire. In 1997, he travelled to UAE for a job but his love and undying dedication for the game led him to form UTSC in Dubai.

“Due to hockey, I got my first job in the Lacnor, a dairy product company in UAE. Then I and Shenawas motivated the staff to play hockey. In due course, we could be able to create a hockey team in the company. Normally, in UAE, people of India and Pakistan origins play hockey,” says Javis who is the chairman of UTSC.

In last two decades, he and his fellow natives from Thalassery have managed to promote hockey in Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Oman.“UTSC proves that dreams are made of passion. The passion is our driving force for which we are united under one umbrella,” said Raffi, who is an employee with Oman Government and plays for UTSC.

Javis later moved to Oman to start his own chemical business where UTSC had its team. Now, the local Oman players are also playing for it. “Since many young kids play hockey in Thalassery, we invite them to UAE where they can play and earn their livelihood,” he said.After he shifted to Oman, Cliflord Mendonsa, sales manager of Lacnor is managing the UTSC hockey team in UAE. Mendonsa is from Mumbai.

UTSC also conducts hockey tournaments in UAE. In February, it organised the second edition of Starcare Cup Gulf Hockey Fiesta. “We have a mission of promoting hockey in different countries with help of Indian players by providing them job opportunities,” Javis said before signing off.